Only Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Ince & Co, Jones Day, Nabarro and Shearman & Sterling boasted trainee retention rates of 100 per cent, according to research conducted by Lawyer 2B.
This is a dramatic improvement for Nabarro, which last September retained just 47 per cent of its September qualifiers.
In stark contrast, Osborne Clarke’s trainee retention rate has continued to deteriorate, plummeting from 61.1 per cent to just 56 per cent. Just behind Osborne Clarke is Morgan Cole, which posted a retention rate of 55 per cent, retaining just six of the 11 trainees who qualified in September.
Elsewhere, DLA Piper’s rate jumped by almost a quarter to 97 per cent from 74 per cent in September 2006. This staggering hike gives the firm one of the best retention rates of the national firms’.
Among its national counterparts, Addleshaw Goddard retained 82 per cent of its September qualifiers, while Hammonds and Pinsent Masons held on to 83 per cent and 75 per cent of their newly-qualifieds respectively.
The results also puts DLA Piper ahead of magic circle firms Allen & Overy (91 per cent), Clifford Chance (96 per cent), Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (87 per cent) and Linklaters (95 per cent).
The average retention rate for trainees qualifying in September 2007 has inched up from 81.2 per cent last year to 82.5 per cent.
More details on trainee retention rates can be found in the October 2007 issue of Lawyer 2B, which is out this week.
Firm
No of trainees due to qualify in Sept 2007
No of Sept 2007 qualifiers offered jobs in first choice department
No of Sept 2007 qualifiers staying with firm after qualification
Retention rate – no of trainees retained/no qualifying (%)
Retention rates
Addleshaw Goddard
44
40
36
82
Allen & Overy
57
52
52
91
26
23
21
81
Baker & McKenzie
19
15
18
95
Barlow Lyde & Gilbert
17
16
14
82
Beachcroft
30
26
26
87
Berrymans Lace Mawer
13
10
10
77
Berwin Leighton Paisner
27
24
24
89
Bird & Bird
9
7
7
77
Blake Lapthorn Tarlo Lyons
11
8
8
73
Bond Pearce
13
10
8
62
Browne Jacobson
10
7
7
70
Burges Salmon
19
16
14
74
Charles Russell
15
9
10
67
Clarke Willmott
14
11
11
79
Clifford Chance
66
Not disclosed
61
96
Clyde & Co
19
19
17
90
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
6
6
6
100
CMS Cameron McKenna
31
27
24
77
Dechert
9
7
6
67
Denton Wilde Sapte
26
Not disclosed
24
92
Dickinson Dees
13
8
8
61
DLA Piper
72
67
70
97
Eversheds
70
60
55
71
Farrer & Co
9
7
7
78
Field Fisher Waterhouse
16
11
11
69
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
46
Not disclosed
40
87
Hammonds
40
36
33
83
Herbert Smith
50
46 (4 did not apply)
45
90
Hill Dickinson
11
8
7
64
Holman Fenwick & Willan
9
9
6
67
Ince & Co
9
N/A
9
100
Irwin Mitchell
27
22
20
74
Jones Day
15
15
15
100
Kendall Freeman
8
5
5
63
Kennedys
12
9
9
75
K&L Gates
11
8
8
73
LG
17
12
12
71
Linklaters
61
54
58
95
Lovells
34
25
27
79
Macfarlanes
18
15
15
83
Mayer Brown
22
16
15
68
McGrigors
11
10
8
73
Mills & Reeve
19
16
15
79
Morgan Cole
11
6
6
55
Nabarro
14
14
14
100
Norton Rose
25
20
22
88
Olswang
18
Not disclosed
14
77
Osborne Clarke
16
9
9
56
Pannone
14
13
13
93
Penningtons
13
10
9
69
Pinsent Masons
48
Not disclosed
36
75
Reed Smith Richards Butler
17
13
13
77
Shearman & Sterling
6
6
6
100
Shoosmiths
11
11
9
81
Simmons & Simmons
31
24
22
71
SJ Berwin
37
29
29
78
Slaughter and May
59
Not disclosed
55
93
Stephenson Harwood
7
5
5
71
Taylor Wessing
22
18
15
68
Travers Smith
16
15
15
94
Trowers & Hamlins
15
12
12
80
Ward Hadaway
10
9
7
70
Watson Farley & Williams
12
10
8
67
Weil Gotshal & Manges
8
5
5
63
White & Case
13
13
12
92
Withers
12
7
9
75
Wragge & Co
16
14
14
88
(Source: Lawyer 2B)
Denton Wilde Sapte Retention Rate
I have just finished my training contract with DWS and chose to move to a new firm on qualification. Out of my year at DWS 8 people left on qualification and not the two listed in the table. I am providing this information because I think it is important that the firms are honest about the number of trainees they manage to retain, particularly in light of the fact that Lovells were chastised for not providing accurate figures.