Allen & Overy will retain 80 per cent of its final-seat trainees in newly-qualified solicitor roles this spring.
The magic circle firm had 40 trainees approaching qualification, and 37 applied for NQ jobs. Of those, A&O offered jobs to 33, with 32 accepting.
While 80 per cent retention is about average for the market as a whole, it is A&O’s lowest figure in five years. In autumn 2013, the firm kept on 72 per cent of its 54 qualifiers.
Training partner James Partridge said: “We’re pleased that we continue to retain the fantastic talent that we attract here at A&O.”
Allen & Overy becomes the fifth firm to release its retention figures for the spring, after Mayer Brown, Slaughter and May, Clifford Chance and Trowers & Hamlins.
| Trainees retained | Trainees left | Total number of qualifiers | Percentage retained | |
| Mayer Brown | 4 | 0 | 4 | 100 |
| Slaughter and May | 35 | 2 | 37 | 95 |
| Clifford Chance | 44 | 4 | 48 | 92 |
| Trowers & Hamlins | 6 | 1 | 7 | 86 |
| Allen & Overy | 32 | 8 | 40 | 80 |
