Top UK firms 'hold on to legal talent'

18/01/2008

Despite a slump in business confidence among City lawyers following the credit crunch, most UK firms retained 90 per cent of their trainee lawyer intake, Legal Week has revealed.

Trainee retention in the magic circle law firms remained high and 18 out of 25 of the UK's leading national firms kept on over 90 per cent of their lawyers that qualified in March 2007.

Allen & Overy offered jobs to 96 per cent of its intake, while Slaughter and May proposed to keep on all 29 of its newly qualified lawyers.

Clifford Chance reported an increase in its legal trainee retention figures holding on to 91 per cent compared to 86 per cent the previous year.

Nabarro senior partner Simon Johnston told Legal Week: "Once you get great people in and spend time and money investing in them, you want to give them the best shot. There is uncertainty, but we do not know which way it will go and work levels have not fallen off a cliff. You cannot take a short-term view."

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