London property specialist law firm fails to capitalise on strong spring retention trend as three trainees head for the door
Nabarro will produce 13 qualifying (NQ) lawyers this September, but only 10 have opted to remain at the firm, prompting the poorest retention result for the Londoners since 2012.
Nabarro confirmed it made 11 offers, of which 10 were accepted, equating to an autumn retention figure of just 77%, a stark contrast to the firm’s 100% spring result.
The London Wall-based practice — renowned for its real estate work, with more recent deals involving Olympic Park development — has seen revenues soar by 21% over the last financial year.
Nabarro, which offers around 25 training contracts a year, will assign seven of its new lawyers to its London headquarters, with the firm’s Sheffield office gaining two NQs. The firm’s Manchester office — which opened last November — will receive one new junior lawyer for the first time.
The fresh-faced associates based in the City will start on salaries of £62,000, while their regional-counterparts will be on a more modest package of around £38,000.
The qualifiers will be spread across several of the firm’s key practice areas, including banking and finance, financial regulatory, real estate, corporate and infrastructure, construction and energy departments.
The development follows incredibly strong retention figures at several prominent US firms in the City. Jones Day, White & Case, Shearman & Sterling, Weil Gotshal & Manges, Sullivan & Cromwell and Covington & Burling all trumpeted perfect 100% autumn figures.
Meanwhile, magic circle City giant Slaughter and May, failed to keep pace with US rivals posting a figure of just 89% last week.