Linklaters is retaining 46 of its 59 qualifying trainees for this autumn round, posting a retention rate of 78 per cent. No qualifiers will be kept on fixed-term contracts (FTC) unlike the previous round this year where one was offered an FTC. Eleven of the qualifiers were also part of the cohort transferred over from […]
The associate recruitment market has tightened up over the past year or two. For trainees looking to qualify, it means that finding a home in their preferred practice area has become more difficult too. Qualification and, specifically, which team you qualify into, can be one of the most crucial moments in a solicitor’s career. On […]
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Slaughter and May have released their retention results for the September cohort, achieving 86 per cent and 84 per cent respectively. There are 37 trainees staying on in newly-qualified positions at Freshfields out of the 43-sized cohort. Slaughters is keeping one fewer trainee from the same sized batch of trainees, meaning […]
Magic circle firm Clifford Chance will keep 42 of its 56 qualifying trainees this September, meaning its retention is 75 per cent. A total of 54 trainees applied from newly qualified (NQ) positions at Clifford Chance, meaning just two chose not to remain at the firm. There were 44 offers made to the soon-to-be qualified […]
Baker McKenzie is the latest firm to increase its London newly-qualified (NQ) solicitor pay, with the new rate jumping 18.6 per cent from £118,000 to £140,000. The new NQ rate took effect on 1 July and will also be soon followed by an increase to Bakers’ trainee pay. From 1 September this year the firm […]
Clifford Chance has altered its associate bonus review process in the UK, bringing it in line with offices in the US. The new system was introduced at the beginning of June and sees associates better rewarded when they are higher in demand – ultimately linking the number of hours billed to the individual’s bonus potential. […]
Reed Smith has increased its newly-qualified (NQ) solicitor salary to £125,000 in its first rise since announcing a hike in 2021. From September this year, the firm is set to increase base salaries for NQs from £107,500 with all other associate-level salaries expected to rise in line with the change. The new compensation structure means […]
In its first round of qualifiers as a newly-merged firm, A&O Shearman has retained 37 of its combined cohort of 56 trainee solicitors. A total of 48 trainees applied to qualify at the firm, but only 39 were made offers, with 37 accepting. Retention is therefore posted at 66 per cent, with no qualifiers on […]
DLA Piper has once again raised pay for its newly-qualified lawyers (NQs), setting a new standard in the regions with a £6,500 increase. The firm’s regional NQ salary will go up to £75,000 from September, up 9 percent from the previous £68,500 implemented in 2023. In early 2022, DLA Piper was among the first to […]
Herbert Smith Freehills has increased its compensation package for its trainee solicitors and newly-qualified (NQ) solicitors, with NQs now earning £135,000. NQ pay at the firm will increase 12.5 per cent from £120,000 to £135,000 – a figure that now surpasses that of Slaughter and May which decided to remain at £125,000 in June. Trainees […]
Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison is to match its US rivals on newly-qualified (NQ) solicitor pay, with a pledge to start taking on trainee solicitors in London. The firm is expected to have its first cohort of trainee solicitors start in London in September 2026. Trainee pay is currently undisclosed but the firm will […]
Bird & Bird and Holman Fenwick Willan are the latest firms to announce pay increases for their newly-qualified solicitors, with the latter rising to £100,000. HFW has increased its pay from £95,000 to £100,000, while Bird & Bird has put in place a slightly lower rise of £3,000 to £98,000. Bird & Bird’s increase comes […]
A general counsel – who qualified as a barrister – has taken to networking platform LinkedIn to protest against rules meaning she cannot sign off qualifying work experience (QWE) for those undertaking the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE). Natalie Connor, a VP of legal at Crowdcube and consultant GC for Legal Edge, has worked as a […]
Online stars are everywhere in law now – but is that a good thing? Lucie Cruz investigates.
Bird & Bird is planning to significantly expand the range of its agile working policies by formalising mandatory remote days for its summer vacation scheme students. The move is an indication of the extent to which the firm believes agile working is now a permanent part of business life. It also indicates the belief among […]
TL career clinic March 2021 from The Lawyer on Vimeo.
We’ve all been there. You finish university, perhaps your LPC too, only to find that you cannot get any work experience (voluntary or paid) because you don’t have any experience. It’s a vicious circle which can be hard to break out from. In 2016, the Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) worked with the Law Society to […]
Trainee recruitment has come a long way from the days when Mishcon partner and Hot 100 2024 member Adam Rose got asked at interview if he “was the sort of chap who would train and then run off to Israel”. Thankfully, it is a long time since being the right sort of chap rather than […]
Unconscious bias rules broken after Bar Council’s Pupillage Gateway portal malfunctions.
Klara Slater, a new tenant at 4PB, provides some tips for tackling the pupillage application process and making the most of your first six when you get there.
Applying for training contracts and vacation schemes can be a daunting process for any student or graduate. With so many firms out there and lots of information to digest, it can be difficult to know where to begin. Here are some tips to help you with your applications. Do your research Research is paramount when […]
Fieldfisher is looking to move away from considering A Level results as part of its recruitment assessment, mirroring similar decisions happening in other firms. The move comes as the firm introduced last year a new situational judgement assessment with Capp, a psychometric testing services consultancy aimed at measuring behaviour and attitudes in relation to work-related […]
Never mind the headlines. Graduate recruiters at some of the top law firms have been cooling for a while on the importance of applicants having top A Level grades. In fact, if you were to look at the recent trainee intake of an example firm, broken down by top three A Level grades achieved, you’d […]
Powered by Lexis Nexis, and featuring experts from the University of Law and Bird & Bird, this webcast explores the future of the legal profession. It looks at the developments currently taking place in the legal market, what those changes will mean for the future, and how students can develop the skills that will […]
Is there still a social mobility problem in the UK legal profession? How can applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds get ahead? And what effect will the forthcoming to legal education and training have? Experts voice their opinion in our webcast
In this webcast, our expert panel discusses burning trainee concerns, such as: how to go about choosing your area of law, what support to expect from your law firm developing your business and commerce sense should you take a year out after an LPC? how not to feel intimidated by the unfamiliar work environment The panel […]
Powered by Lexis Nexis, and featuring experts from the University of Law and Herbert Smith Freehills, this webcast will help candidates make themselves employable in the eyes of law firms and barristers’ chambers, and land that first job in law. The content covers how to build a CV that can’t be ignored, personal presentation and […]
As the “Wagatha Christie” stage show prepares for its UK tour, The Lawyer speaks to the barrister-turned-actress playing Mrs Justice Steyn.
When Gibson Dunn & Crutcher’s Penny Madden QC met with government officials late last year to discuss then Iran captive Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, she detected an unfamiliar sense of optimism. “It felt like there was some scope for optimism but that it was very measured. And because there were so many false starts in the past, […]
Harini Iyengar is a barrister at 11KWB, specialising in employment, discrimination and equality, education, partnership, data protection and procurement law. She is the Women’s Equality Party’s candidate for Vauxhall in the upcoming general election.
