2 October: Shoosmiths has retained 25 of 33 qualifiers. Eleven join corporate and banking, four go to people and reward (aka employment), three to commercial, three to litigation and one to real estate.
Six NQs will be based in London, five in Manchester, five in Birmingham, two each in Southampton, the Thames Valley and Belfast, and one each in Glasgow, Leeds and Milton Keynes.
Elsewhere, Birketts retained 25 of 28 qualifiers, including 10 in dispute resolution, nine in corporate, five in private client and one in real estate. Seven will be based in the Ipswich office, six in Norwich, four in Chelmsford, three in Cambridge, three in Sevenoaks and two in London.
Autumn retention so far
25 September: Hogan Lovells has kept of 16 of its 24 qualifiers, including one on a fixed-term contract. Some 23 had applied for NQ roles with the firm, and 17 offers were made.
Ten of the NQs will join finance and corporate, four go to regulatory and IP and two to the disputes/employment practice.
10 September: Clyde & Co has kept on 51 of its 71 qualifiers, including one on a fixed-term contract. London will be home to 28 of the NQs, 13 will be based in Manchester, three in Guildford, three in Scotland, two in Belfast and one each in Bristol and Newcastle.
Elsewhere, Lester Aldridge has retained five of seven trainees, in real estate, private client, health, litigation & recoveries, and dispute resolution.
And Capsticks has hung on to all 10 of its final-seaters: one in Birmingham, four in Leeds, three in London and two in Winchester. Two join real estate; two corporate/commercial; two regulatory; and one each in employment; housing and regeneration; housing management; and advisory.
5 September: Hugh James has kept on 16 of its 19 qualifiers: 13 in Cardiff, two in London and one in Manchester
Seven will be part of the firm’s business client services division and nine join the individual client services strand.
And South East firm Cripps has retained 12 of its 15 qualifiers, three of whom were solicitor apprentices.
Private client takes five NQs, corporate four and real estate three.
Seven will be based in the firm’s Tunbridge Wells HQ, three in London and two in Horsham.
4 September: Shakespeare Martineau kept on 12 of its 13 qualifiers this autumn, sending three to real estate finance and the rest to commercial services, energy, private client, real estate disputes, employment, corporate, litigation and the firm’s new Edinburgh office.
However, in a statement, the firm added: “Zenab Khatun, a valued colleague who had accepted a role with us, sadly passed away before being able to take up their position. Zenab’s loss is deeply felt across the firm.”
Elsewhere, Mishcon de Reya has retained 26 of its 30 qualifiers.
3 September: US firm Goodwin is retaining 11 out of 14 qualifiers, including one on a fixed-term contract. Six join the private equity team, two go to real estate, two to the tech and life sciences practice and one to competition.
And Baker McKenzie holds on to 17 of 20. Four will be disputes lawyers, three join the employment team, two energy, two competition, two corporate M&A, and one each in corporate finance, private equity, IP and financial services regulatory.
2 September: Pinsent Masons has kept on 52 of its 71 trainees, the lowest number this autumn with the exception of A&O Shearman.
Nineteen join the firm’s finance and projects division, 13 go to transactional departments, 10 to property and 10 to risk advisory services.
Meanwhile, Lewis Silkin has retained five out of six final-seat trainees: two in employment, one in IP, one in corporate and one in the digital, creative and commerce team.
And Bird & Bird has kept on 15 of its 20 qualifiers: five in commercial, five in IP, two in disputes, two in corporate and one in employment.
1 September: HSF Kramer has kept on 29 of its 31 qualifiers, after making 30 offers.
Training partner David Rosen said:”In an increasingly competitive marketplace for legal talent, where attracting and retaining top candidates is more challenging than ever, we continue to see significant numbers of our trainees choosing to build their careers with the firm.”
29 August: In Scotland, Harper Macleod is retaining 18 of its 20 trainees.
Of the 18 NQs, 14 will be based in Glasgow and four in Edinburgh.
Three will go to the banking and finance team, three to corporate, two to dispute resolution, two to private client, two to renewable energy, two to commercial real estate, and one each to public sector real estate, residential property, debt recovery, and personal injury.
22 August: Irwin Mitchell is keeping on 48 of its 53 qualifiers for 2025.
Fourteen join the firm’s business services group, 12 will go to medical negligence, nine to Court of Protection, public law and human rights, eight to private client, four to personal injury and one to the office of the General Counsel.
Head of talent Amy Scott said: “Qualifying as a solicitor is not just a milestone, but an exciting and significant achievement in their career. It highlights the hard work, commitment, and tenacity that each of them has shown over the last two years.”
14 August: Macfarlanes has retained 24 of 28 trainees, or 85.7 per cent.
1 August: Linklaters has retained 33 of its 40 London qualifiers, after 34 were offered roles.
Trainee development partner Chris Stevens said: “Congratulations to our new junior lawyers as they embark on this next stage of their careers at Linklaters. They have all shown outstanding potential and ambition.”
Meanwhile, Mills & Reeve is keeping 24 of 26 trainees. Seven each join the Cambridge and Birmingham offices, four will be in Norwich, three in Leeds, two in Manchester and one in London.
Eight will be corporate-commercial NQs, four will go to real estate and four to employment, three litigation, two private client, two insurance disputes and one family,
22 July: Burges Salmon has kept on 24 of its 27 qualifiers, including one who qualified through the apprenticeship route. One is on a fixed-term contract.
Two NQs are qualifying into the construction and banking teams in Edinburgh: they were Burges Salmon’s first trainees in Scotland; the other 22 will be based in Bristol. Three of those will join the litigation team, three go to projects and three to corporate. Two apiece will join Bristol’s pensions, real estate, constriction, employment and planning teams. The remaining three will take up roles in commercial, family and financial services regulation.
Chief People Officer Alice Bretherton said: “We’re proud of our fantastic cohort of trainees and apprentices choosing to stay and pursue their careers with us.”
21 July: Addleshaw Goddard has the largest qualifying cohort of any firm that has so far reported. It has retained 50 of 58 trainees, or 86 per cent. Sixteen will take up NQ roles in London, 11 each in Leeds and Manchester, nine in Edinburgh and three in Glasgow.
14 July: National firm Freeths has retained 11 of its 15 qualifiers (73.3 per cent). Three each join the firms Nottingham and Birmingham offices, two will work in Bristol and one each in London, Leicester and Sheffield.
Litigation takes the most NQs – three – while construction, real estate and corporate all take two, and banking and tax one each.
11 July: A&O Shearman has revealed a relatively low retention rate for the second autumn in a row, a result of the Shearman & Sterling and Allen & Overy merger leaving it with much larger trainee cohorts than usual.
Of the intake of 54 final-seaters, 50 applied for jobs with the firm, 40 were made offers and 37 accepted, a retention rate of 68.5 per cent.
It is similar to the firm’s retention rate of 66 per cent from last year, which was the first one post-merger.
Training principal James Partridge said: “We’re pleased to see another strong group of our trainees continuing their journey with A&O Shearman. We are excited to see them grow as they take on the next stage of their careers.”
Meanwhile, US firm Vinson & Elkins has kept on all seven of its qualifiers. Four join the litigation department and three the transactions practice, with one of the seven taking up an NQ role in Dubai.
8 July: Watson Farley & Williams, like RPC, retains 16 out of its 18 final-seaters.
Of the 12 NQs remaining in the London office, five join the asset finance practice, four project go to finance, two corporate, and one debt capital markets. Three will work in the Dubai office: two in disputes and once in finance. The last will take up a role as a disputes lawyer in Bangkok.
Training principal Kavita Shah said: “Notably, four of our NQs will be starting their careers in our international offices – one in Bangkok and three in Dubai – reflecting the truly global nature of our firm and the breath of opportunities available across our network. It is particularly encouraging to see continued interest in our overseas seats, which offer rich, hands-on experience in dynamic markets.”
7 July: London firm Wedlake Bell has retained all eight of its qualifiers. Two join the insolvency practice and the other six go to commercial disputes, construction, corporate, tax, IP/commercial, and private client.
Managing partner Martin Arnold said: “We are delighted to have retained our entire trainee cohort this year. Each of them has already made significant contributions to the firm, and their energy, professionalism and dedication exemplify the future of Wedlake Bell.”
3 July: RPC is second out of the gate this summer, keeping all 16 of those who applied for NQ jobs, out of an 18-strong cohort.
Training principal Laura Stocks said: “The high retention rate reflects the strength of this year’s group and how well-regarded they are across the business.”
Twelve of the NQs will be based in London and four in Bristol. Six of them join the insurance practice, six go to disputes (including three in IP and tech, two in commercial litigation and one in media), and four join corporate and commercial.
9 June: Often early to announce, Covington & Burling has kicked off the autumn retention season, placing all nine of its qualifiers into NQ roles. Two join the litigation team, with the other seven going to corporate, life sciences (transactional), life sciences (regulatory), employment, business and human rights, financial services, and project development and finance.
Covington only kept five of eight qualifiers in 2024, but has also managed 100 per cent retention in 2015, 2016, 2020 and 2023.
Slaughter and May is among the firms that have not yet disclosed their spring retention figures.
Spring season
9 June: Two late result come through. One is from CMS, which has kept 21 of its 32 spring qualifiers, two on fixed-term contracts. Nineteen qualify in London, one in Bristol and one in Dubai. Corporate takes five NQs, finance, litigation, and technology four apiece, real estate two and energy two.
The other is from Ashurst. It has retained 14 of 19, having made offers to 17 final-seaters.
9 April: Baker McKenzie has kept hold of 11 of 19 qualifiers, including one on a fixed-term contract. Two join disputes, two commercial and trade, and one each to banking, financial services regulation, real estate, corproate finance, corporate M&A, tax, and IP/technology.
31 March: Reed Smith will keep 10 of its 15 qualifiers (67 per cent): four in its energy group, two in corporate, two in finance, one in transport and one in disputes.
The firm is also increasing trainee salaries by £3,000, boosting first-year rates to £53,000 and second-year pay to £58,000.
18 March: White & Case is retaining 87 per cent – or 20 out of 23 – final-seat trainees, with one joining the Doha office and the rest in London.
11 March: HFW will retain 80 per cent of its 10 trainees: six in London and one each in Hong Kong and Dubai. Two will join the aerospace team, three shipping and three commodities.
6 March: Shoosmiths has retained all nine of its qualifiers with two joining real estate and the rest going to banking, commercial, construction, corporate, employment, pensions, and litigation. Two each qualify into Manchester, Thames Valley and London; the other three will be based on Birmingham, Leeds and Southampton.
Meanwhile Freeths keeps 15 of 19, including one on a fixed-term contract. The corporate department will house three and disputes two, with one NQ joining each of the following: banking, commercial (IT), construction, employment, IP, planning, restructuring, tax, property litigation, and trusts/estates.
Four will be based in Birmingham, three in Sheffield, two each in Milton Keynes and Nottingham, and one each in Bristol, London, Manchester and Oxford.
4 March: Clifford Chance saw 48 of its 50 final-seaters apply for NQ jobs, with 44 offers made and 40 accepting. That’s a retention rate of 80 per cent.
27 February: Hogan Lovells has kept 18 of its 23 qualifiers this spring, with three of them on fixed-term contracts. Twenty of the 23 applied for roles, with 19 offers made.
Eight of the newly qualified cohort (including the three fixed-term contract ones) will join the corporate team, with five going to litigation, arbitration and employment, four to finance and one to global regulatory.
24 February: After a hiatus in announcements, Addleshaw Goddard has revealed that all 11 of its spring qualifiers have been retained: four in corporate and commercial, two each in disputes and real estate and one in finance and projects. The remaining two trainees will head to Dubai.
The newly-qualifieds staying in the UK will be based in London (five), Leeds (three) and Manchester (one).
7 February: A&O Shearman is keeping 31 of its 37-strong intake, or 84 per cent. A total of 36 applied for jobs, with 35 offers made.
The cohort is the firm’s smallest since spring 2020, following an extremely large one last October due to the merger between Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling.
Training partner James Partridge said: “We’re delighted that so many of our trainees have chosen to build their careers at A&O Shearman. I look forward to seeing them grow and thrive as they continue their careers with us.”
6 February 2025: The spring 2025 trainee retention season has begun. Herbert Smith Freehills has retained 29 of 33 final-seat trainees in newly-qualified jobs, having received applications from 32. Training partner David Rosen said: “Despite geopolitical and economic uncertainties, the market for talent remains competitive and we are excited that, once again, so many of our trainees have elected to pursue their careers with the firm.”
Meanwhile Linklaters made offers to 79 per cent of its London trainees, with 75 per cent retained.
Check back here for the latest retention results as they come through.
