Firms have started to announce their spring 2018 retention rates and so far, it’s good news for NQs. Here’s our round-up of the spring retentions to date
Magic circle firm Slaughter and May was one of the first to announce its spring retention rate and no wonder as it’s an impressive 95%. It made offers to 36 of the 37 trainees qualifying in March, all but one of whom accepted. This compares to a figure of 91% last autumn and a 100% clean sweep this time last year. Its new solicitors can expect a starting salary of £80,000.
Over at magic circle rival Clifford Chance, applications were received from all 48 of its spring qualifying trainees with offers made to 44. All were accepted (92%), and they will start their new role on a not to be sniffed at £87,300 a year. This season’s retention rate is a marked improvement on last year when only 31 out of 46 qualifiers (67%) stayed with the firm.
Keen no doubt to spread the good cheer, Mayer Brown revealed its perfect retention score before Christmas. Admittedly it’s a small sample size but even so, all four of its qualifiers are being kept on and will start on £75,000. This puts them on a par in terms of salary with DLA Piper, Hogan Lovells and Macfarlanes.
Six of Trowers & Hamlins’ seven spring NQs are remaining with the firm (86%), three in London, two in Manchester and one in Exeter.
All these firms are making a habit of announcing their retention rates early as they were the first to post their results last year, too. In that respect, this year is following a similar pattern to last with few firms releasing their retention information before the last couple of weeks of February.
It comes at a time when the Law Society has issued fresh guidance urging firms to avoid leaving trainees in limbo before qualification. The Law Society’s Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) would like trainees to be given at least eight weeks’ notice of whether they are being kept on. The chair of the JLD told Legal Cheek: “In extreme cases, trainees have been told there is no role for them the day before their training contract ends.”
Clearly, this is unacceptable. Hopefully, this new guidance from the Law Society will see firms announcing earlier this year. As and when they do, we will keep you updated.