Allen & Overy has become the first magic circle firm to reveal its retention figures for this spring.
Out of an intake of 37 qualifying trainees, 36 applied for newly qualified (NQ) positions, with the firm offering jobs to 34 of them, all of whom accepted. That gives a final retention rate of 92 per cent. All are on permanent contracts.
James Partridge, the graduate recruitment partner at A&O, said: “I’m really pleased we’re seeing such a high retention rate, which speaks not only to the calibre of the upcoming talent at the firm but also our continued commitment to investing in our future lawyers during the pandemic. I’d like to congratulate all those qualifying in March after what has been an extraordinary year and I look forward to seeing their careers continue to flourish.”
Before Christmas, Reed Smith was the first firm to publish its March retention figures, keeping on all 12 of its qualifiers.
Allen & Overy’s result one of its better recent performances for retention, though it does not quite match its autumn 2020 round, when it retained 93 per cent of its qualifiers.
With only 37 trainees, the intake is A&O’s joint smallest in many years, matching the size of the spring 2020 cohort.
