The firm is the first of the Magic Circle to post its retention rates this year, having been the last in autumn 2016. Of a 32-strong cohort, 30 qualifiers put themselves forward and the firm made 30 offers, of which 29 were accepted.

Slaughters’ autumn trainee retention figures are down 9% from its spring 2017 rates, which saw the City heavyweight keep 100% of its 25 trainees in NQ positions at the firm.

Commenting on the result in a statement, the firm said the retention rate remains in line with previous years.

‘We remain encouraged by our consistently high retention rates and are confident that all these talented lawyers will make a strong contribution to the firm,’ the statement added.

This spring, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Allen & Overy (A&O) announced they would retain 84% and 82% of their trainees respectively, while Linklaters kept on 86% to become NQ lawyers. All the other Magic Circle firms surpassed Clifford Chance (CC) in retention rates, which held on to 67% of its cohort of its spring trainees earlier this year.

In autumn 2016, Linklaters posted the highest retention rate of the Magic Circle firms, with 91% trainees kept on to NQ posts, while Freshfields posted a 95% retention rate as A&O retained 86% of its NQs.

Clifford Chance, after announcing in 2016 that it would cull its trainee intake by 20% by 2018, again posted the lowest autumn 2016 retention rate, although it still retained 82% of its cohort.

This article first appeared on The Lex 100‘s sister publication, Legal Business.

All offers the firm made were accepted by the candidates, with 13 heading to NQ positions in the firm’s corporate division, while three moving to roles in finance and the disputes practice.

The firm’s latest figures reflect a considerable jump for the firm, which in March successfully retained 85%, or 17 of its group of 20 trainees. In September, 14 Ashurst second-year trainees agreed to join the firm out of a group of 20, taking retention to 70%.

Ashurst’s graduate recruitment partner Nick Wong said the firm was pleased with its latest round: ‘Attracting, developing and retaining the best people is critical to the success of our business and we are confident that these talented young lawyers will make a significant contribution to Ashurst over the course of their careers.’

Ashurst has also increased its pay for its NQ associates by 3% with a rise to £72,000.

Junior Ashurst lawyers with one and two years’ post qualified experience will receive an extra £1,000, boosting their pay to £76,000 and £86,000 respectively.

First year trainees have also received a £1,000 rise this financial year, with pay increasing to £42,000.

Late in June, the firm revealed improved financial results for the 2016/17 financial year. Ashurst’s revenues rose 7% to £541m, up from £505m the previous year when profits fell 10%.

Profits per equity partner for the financial year rose 11% to £672,000 following a 19% drop in 2015/16, when numbers plummeted from £747,000 to £603,000.

This article first appeared on The Lex 100‘s sister publication, Legal Business.

Lawyers at Ince will now progress up a four-step career programme applicable to trainees, associates, senior associates and managing associates.

They will only move on to the next stage once they have demonstrated a set of competencies focusing on legal skill, client management, business development, working with and leading people, business and financial awareness, and ethos and culture, rather than moving up year on year.

Lawyers who reach the level of managing associate will also be given the option of taking up the new role of legal director, instead of moving up to partner. The firm so far has one lawyer who will be the first to take up the role this year.

Those that choose the legal director path are still given the flexibility to make partner later on in their careers, if they demonstrate the level’s competencies as set out by the firm.

Ince will create pay ranges for each level which gives it flexibility to link reward, promotion and performance, moving away from the previous PQE model. These ranges will be reviewed annually for the next financial year.

Although current bands are based on Ince’s previous post-qualification experience model, these will be reviewed at the end of the financial year. Performance bonuses worth between 10-25% of a lawyer’s salary will also be available for top performers.

The firm’s City appraisal system has now been moved from paper-based reviews to an electronic-based system. This way, partners can provide feedback to associates with records reviewed at regular intervals throughout the year.

All feedback will then be formally reviewed by an associate’s mentor at the end of the year to assess whether or not a lawyer should move up.

The initiative was rolled out in London on 1 May. Ince expects the new structure will be adopted by the rest of its 13 offices at the start of the next financial year.

The initiative is being implemented in conjunction with the firm’s learning and development function, headed up by Andrew Jameson, a former barrister and HR specialist for the Royal Navy.

Ince senior partner, Jan Heuvels, told Legal Business: ‘The benefit is that it plays to people’s strengths. You will very quickly be able to identify that some people naturally are potentially at the next level but need to fill in some other skills.

‘You then focus on those and you are therefore able to drive quality in your firm and your associateship far more effectively than if you were treating everyone the same, hoping that time will make them all exactly the same,’ Heuvels said.

‘It’s also about getting people to take responsibility for their own careers,’ he added.

This article first appeared on The Lex 100‘s sister publication, Legal Business.

CMS’ new Monaco office, which will trade as CMS Pasquier Ciulla & Marquet, will focus on private clients, banking, M&A, employment and real estate, traditional areas of focus for PCM.

PCM’s three partners and 14 lawyers join CMS as the first Monaco full-service outfit to merger with an international firm.

CMS executive chairman Cornelius Brandi said the Monaco opening will give CMS the possibility to support both global clients trying to do business in the city-state and Monaco-based global investors.

Olivier Marquet, a partner who joined from PCM partner, said that the Monaco had ‘taken steps to enhance its attractiveness to foreign investors’. He agreed that the new firm becoming part of CMS’ global network meant it would also be able to offer local expertise to serve those international-oriented clients, given that Monaco was the base for ‘a high number of investors’ who operate internationally.

CMS’s move follows the launch of Norton Rose Fulbright’s Monaco-based operations in November 2016 and gives the firm 71 offices in 40 countries and more than 1,000 partners.

This January, three Latin American firms – CMS Carey & Allende in Chile, CMS Grau in Peru and CMS Rodríguez Azuero Contexto Legal Abogados in Colombia – were brought into the CMS group, expanding the firm’s presence in that region.

This article first appeared on The Lex 100‘s sister publication, Legal Business.

1) Get in Touch

Speaking to lawyers within firms can give you a great insight into the culture of the firm as well as the work that they do on a daily basis. It looks fantastic on an application if you’ve shown the initiative to speak to someone before you apply and people are often flattered when you show an interest in what they do, so don’t be embarrassed to ask for advice. If you speak to someone at a careers fair or an open day make sure to get their name and send them a follow-up email, and make the most of LinkedIn to start getting connected.

2) Do a Vacation Scheme

Not only is this a much more assured way of getting a training contract, vacation schemes are also the best way to judge if a law firm is right for you. They provide you with more time to get a feel for the firm, and more opportunities to impress them and show off your capabilities than a short interview would. It’s much easier to get an idea of what working there will really be like by experiencing it for yourself.

3) Be Genuine and Relaxed at Interviews

It’s important to be well prepared for interviews, but don’t let this take away from how you conduct yourself on the day. If you rote learn answers this may show that you aren’t able to think on your feet, and it may also take away from giving an accurate reflection of your personality. Try to relax and be yourself; the interviewers are looking for capability but also for people that they want to sit in an office with. 

4) Consider the Firm’s Selection Process

Although it can be difficult to remember whilst you’re trying to impress at interviews, open days and on vacation schemes, it’s important to consider how contact with the firm impacts on your impression of them. Law firms all have different methods of recruiting, and this can be a good indication of their treatment of trainees. Some law firms may really challenge you intellectually at interviews, or try to get the best out of you at vacation schemes by setting up interesting challenges whilst providing support. These experiences can be a good indication of what life as a trainee would be like with them.

5) Look Further than Online Brochures

It’s easy to be taken in by glamorous promises on law firms’ websites, such as doing overseas seats. However, the best way to find a firm that’s the best fit for you is to consider what kind of work you want to do and culture you want to work in on a daily basis. If you don’t enjoy the particular culture or practice areas of a firm in London, it won’t make it much better if this environment is transplanted somewhere more exotic.

6) Base your choice on Practice Areas

The work you do as a lawyer will be entirely different depending on which practice area you work in. As a trainee you will sit in four (or sometimes six) seats and after two years you will specialise in one of these areas, so it’s important to consider the practice areas that may interest you.

7) Read the News

Reading the news will provide an insight to the deals and disputes that a firm is currently involved in and help you understand which practice areas work on those transactions. It may also provide an insight into recent or potential future development within the legal world. For example, if you are looking for a small or medium-sized firm you may discover that the law firms that you are considering could be facing a potential merger with a larger firm.

8) Training Contract Structure

Training contracts are structured very differently across firms, as some firms structure their offices so that a trainee is always seated with a partner and/or an associate, whilst others give trainees their own office. Consider the structure that you feel would provide you with the best way to grow and develop as a lawyer.

9) Use Your Resources

From your university’s careers service to the vast amount of advice available online, there is plenty of research that you can do to gain an insight into firms before you apply. Make the most of all resources available to you as this will improve your applications and ensure you are selecting firms that will be best for you. Some online careers advisors even offer contact with lawyers within various firms, and are willing to provide extensive advice to you personally concerning applications. Be willing to listen and take their advice on board.

10) Be Selective

Being selective by choosing five or six firms to apply to will mean that you have more time to tailor each application to the criteria specified in the brochures. Highlight that you not only want to be a lawyer but also that you specifically want to be a lawyer at that firm; offering someone a training contract means investing a huge amount of time and money in them, so showing commitment is key.

Akin Gump’s London Newly Qualified Lawyer (NQ) pay will not be changing at this time and remains at US$180,000, until the firm chooses to review associate/NQ salaries.

Victoria Widdows, Director of International Legal Recruiting & Development at Akin Gump in London, commented: “Training as a lawyer in our London office offers an inspiring and immersive environment. Akin Gump trainees quickly become an integral part of the London office and we want to ensure that salaries are reflective of this at the top end of the market, as is the case with our NQ salaries.”

Shearman will retain 87% of its London trainees due to qualify in September 2017, as 13 out of 15 trainees were offered and accepted newly qualified (NQ) positions at the firm. This represents a drop from both its 2016 and 2015 retention rates, when all 13 of its September qualifiers accepted full-time positions at the firm’s London office. This year’s figure remains above its 2014 rates, however, when the firm retained 75% of its final-year trainees to NQ positions.

The US firm’s September NQ lawyers join the mergers and acquisitions, finance, financial Institutions advisory and financial regulatory, project development and finance, and antitrust global practices. Three members of Shearman’s NQ intake this year will take up international secondments in Brussels, Abu Dhabi and Singapore.

Other firms to have announced their retention rates for this autumn include Burges Salmon and Blake Morgan. Burges Salmon announced in April this year that it will retain 100% of its 28 trainees, while Blake Morgan will keep eight of nine trainees who will qualify this September.

Jones Day has substantially boosted its NQ City lawyers’ pay by 18%, rising by £15,000 from last year to £100,000. Its trainees will also receive increased pay in this year’s review, with Jones Days first years earning an extra £2,000, raising their salaries to £47,000, while second year pay jumped 8% to £54,000.

Travers Smith also increased its associate salaries across the board, with newly qualified lawyers (NQ) now receiving a base salary of £75,000, a 5% hike on last year’s pay.

The UK firm raised its pay for its 1 year post-qualification (PQE) lawyers, who will now receive £82,000, an additional £3,000 on last year’s figures. Its 2 year PQE lawyers received a £1,000 raise, bringing their base salary to £92,000; and an additional £2,000 has been awarded to 3 year PQE lawyers, who will be paid £102,000 this year.

Trainees at the firm have seen a rise in their base salaries, with first years awarded an extra £1,000, while second year trainees will earn a further £1,500 up from last year. Their base salaries will now reach £43,500 and £49,000 respectively.

Across the City, Macfarlanes NQs can now earn between £81,300 and £90,000 a year, based on individual performance bonuses, which are expected to range between 8% and 15%. The figures have shot up from its previous band, which ranged between £71,000 and £75,000. All fee earners will have the chance to earn an extra bonus of up to 10% of their base salary for ‘exceptional’ performance.

Although London-based CMS  associates have missed out on a systematic pay rise, CMS has increased pay levels for NQs in both Bristol and Scotland, who will receive £49,000, up £1,500 and £39,000, a £1,000 increase, respectively.

London-based associates base salaries at Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) remain unchanged. However, HSF associates will have a chance to earn greater pay with a new bonus system for top performers.

HSF is currently looking to review its salary structure to ‘be able to consider an associate’s wider contribution to the firm, alongside their performance and skills’, a spokesperson said The new reward structure will aim to ‘provide greater flexibility for the firm to make reward decisions less directly linked to PQE.’

This article first appeared on The Lex 100‘s sister publication, Legal Business.

The A&O team is led by corporate partner Duncan Bellamy, who also led A&O on London Stock Exchange (LSE) listed Worldpay’s 2015 initial public offering (IPO), and is joined by M&A partner Seth Jones.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom represented Cincinnati-based Vantiv on the deal. In 2016, the company processed 25 billion transactions with a combined $930bn value.

In a joint statement, Worldpay and Vantiv said they saw a ‘compelling strategic, commercial and financial rationale’ for the combination, which will create a global company with a ‘strong position’ in the four core regions: the US, Europe, Asia-Pacific and South America.

Worldpay was subject to an offer from US banking giant JPMorgan Chase yesterday, but the company announced today that an agreement had been reached with Vantiv.

The deal values Worldpay’s shares at £3.85 each, with shareholders entitled to 55p per share. A Worldpay spokesperson confirmed that the value of the merger was subject to share price change, but that the ultimate value will be around £9bn.

Vantiv chief operating officer Charles Drucker will lead the group as executive chairman and co-chief executive while Vantiv’s Stephanie Ferris will assume the role of chief financial officer.

Worldpay chief executive Philip Jansen will continue as a chief executive for the combined company.

Following the merger’s completion, Worldpay shares will be delisted from the LSE. Common stock in Vantiv, which will be the ultimate holding company of the combined group, will continue to be listed on The New York Stock Exchange.

A&O, Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised Worldpay on its 2015 IPO. The float was the largest of the year. It gave Worldpay a market value of more than £5bn.

At the time, Bellamy, David Broadley and US securities partner Jeff Hendrickson advised Worldpay. Weil’s team advising Advent International and Bain Capital was led by London partner Marco Compagnoni, with Peter King, Samantha McGonigle and Simon Lyell. Freshfields advised underwriter Goldman Sachs, led by capital markets partner Mark Austin.

[email protected]

This article first appeared on The Lex 100‘s sister publication, Legal Business

The international firm received 10 applications and offered nine jobs. Eight of the trainees took the firm up on its offer, all of whom will be on permanent contracts.

The Litigation, Banking & Finance, Corporate & Securities, Real Estate, Pensions, Employment & Benefits and IP teams will all welcome a new NQ team member.

William Glassey, Training Principal at Mayer Brown said:

‘I want to congratulate all our September qualifiers; they have all done extremely well. We are also delighted that eight of our trainees will be staying on in permanent positions within our practices. They represent our investment in the future of the firm and we look forward to watching their continuing development as they build their careers.’

The lucky eight can expect to pocket an impressive £71,500 a year in their new roles.