A law firm’s trainee retention rate is an important thing to consider when applying for training contracts.
After spending around two years training, a trainee should be rewarded with a newly-qualified (NQ) position where they can put their legal skills into action.
And for the law firm, after having invested considerable time (and money) in training a trainee, it’s a time to recoup their investment.
This isn’t always what happens however. Sometimes due to budget constraints and business needs, not to mention personal choice, some trainees leave at the end of their training contracts.
Here is a round-up of the published retention rates of some of the top UK (and Future Lawyers featured) law firms in this autumn winter season.
Kirkland & Ellis kept on 12 of its 12 qualifiers (100%)
Slaughter and May kept on 37 of its 41 qualifiers (90%)
HSF Kramer kept on 29 of its 31 qualifiers (94%)
Pinsent Masons kept on 52 of its 71 qualifiers (73%)
Bird & Bird kept on 15 of its 20 qualifiers (75%)
Lewis Silkin kept on 5 of its 6 qualifiers (83%)
Goodwin kept on 11 of its 14 qualifiers (79%)
Mishcon de Reya kept on 26 of its 30 qualifiers (87%)
Cripps kept on 12 of its 15 qualifiers (80%)