Crowell & Moring is to recruit its first ever trainee solicitor in London.
The Lawyer revealed in January 2019 that the US firm was mulling a City training contract after Robert Weekes arrived as its new office managing partner. Crowell is now recruiting for one trainee to begin in January 2021, with energy lawyer Robin Baillie taking on the role of training partner. It plans to recruit more as part of its growth plan for London.
Unusually, the training contract will be non-rotational; rather than spending time in ‘seats’ across different departments the trainee will take on a broad mix of work, including in litigation, arbitration, corporate, finance, restructuring and insolvency, energy and infrastructure, international trade, and insurance. Jones Day is currently the only firm in the City which operates this type of training contract, a USP it has made much of over the years.
An overseas secondment to Crowell & Moring’s Brussels office will also be on the table.
Weekes said: “Introducing a training contract programme is a further, exciting step in our plans to grow the London office. Our trainees will flourish from day one by being involved in the interesting and challenging work that we all do here.”
Baillie added: “I am really pleased that we are introducing this programme for our London office. Crowell & Moring combines a unique, inclusive, and caring team culture and a passion for diversity with the commercial, client-focused advice that one would expect from a leading law firm; in these difficult times that is a powerful combination.”
The successful trainee will be paid £45,000 per year, a starting salary that matches firms including Dechert and Paul Hastings, though by no means every US firm. The current highest salary for a first-year trainee is the £55,000 paid to Davis Polk’s new starters.
Crowell is now set to host webinars in August for potential applicants.
