International giant will take on its first trainees next September
Baker & McKenzie has confirmed it will offer training contracts at its Belfast support hub from next year.
The firm — which currently offers around 30 London-based training contracts annually — revealed that it will initially provide up to two training positions exclusively to paralegals who already work within its Belfast office. These new trainees will start in September 2017.
Though details are still thin on the ground, Legal Cheek understands the Belfast-based training contract — which will see the trainees qualify as solicitors in Northern Ireland — will include a secondment to the firm’s London office.
According to Legal Cheek’s 2016/17 Most List, Bakers currently pays its London trainees £45,000 in year one, rising to £49,000 in year two. While it’s still unclear what the firm’s new Belfast cohort will receive in terms of remuneration, Legal Cheek expects it to be less than their London counterparts, due in part to the difference in the cost of living.
The firm’s Northern Ireland outpost — which opened in August 2014 — currently has 60 legal support staff.