Research released this week revealed that retention for 2012 was 79 per cent, down a point and a half from last year. However, the top firms took on 16 per cent more newly-qualified solicitors than the previous year– with 2,620 young lawyers bagging permanent roles at the practices where they trained.

Deal freeze

The survey– conducted by the publishers of the Chambers Directory – will bolster hopes that the English profession is gradually recovering from one of the worst knocks it has suffered in recent history, resulting from the global financial crisis and the effective freeze on large scale corporate deals.
Chambers researchers attribute the significant rise in qualifying numbers to the aftermath of the crisis. As global economic turmoil mounted three years ago, many large firms deferred trainee start dates as they tightened belts. That meant great chunks of the trainee army starting their contracts in 2010 rather than 2009, and they qualified last autumn.

Establishment darlings

Indeed, the nadir of trainee retention came in 2009, when the figure bottomed at 74 per cent, following a peak figure for the last decade the previous year of 82 per cent.
This year, the top three law firms for retaining trainees were large regional or niche players. Bristol-based Burgess Salmon, national firm Shoosmiths and blue-blood private client practice Farrer & Co retained all their qualifying lawyers.
In the magic circle, establishment darlings Slaughter and May took top honour by finishing ninth overall, with a retention rate of 88 per cent, keeping 68 of its 77 qualifiers. However, Slaughters was down from last year’s figure of 92 per cent.

Magic circle

Rounding out the magic circle, Anglo-German global player Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer came in 11th place with a rate of 87 per cent (keeping 82 of 94 qualifiers), Allen & Overy was 21st with a rate of 84 per cent (retaining 97 of 115), Linklaters came 34th with a rate of 82 per cent (100 of 122), and Clifford Chance fell in 45th position with a rate of 77 per cent (87 of 113).
Indeed, the once mighty CC had the worst figures of the magic circle firms, as its retention rate slipped by nine points from last year and the firm dropped 24 places in the Chambers table.
Los Angeles-based Latham & Watkins was the best performer of the US firms in London, finishing in fifth position in the table with a retention rate of 92 per cent, having kept all but one of its 13 trainees.