All six associates kept on
City law firm Macfarlanes is offering its trainees-to-be £10,000 in financial support during their Legal Practice Course (LPC), as it confirms a spring retention score of 100%.
The new and improved sum equates to an uplift of 43%, up £3,000 from the previous maintenance grant of £7,000. Legal Cheek’s LPC Most List shows the London-headquartered outfit is the 15th law firm to award its future trainees the five-figure sum. The firm confirmed the uplift also applies to its GDL’ers.
Macfarlanes’ newest recruits complete the vocational course at BPP University Law School’s Holborn branch. The firm — which offers around 30 City training contacts annually — also fully funds LPC fees.
Turning to the silver circle outfit’s spring retention score, Macfarlanes confirmed all six of its March-qualifying associates-to-be had stayed put. This hands the single office outfit a perfect score of 100%. It did not disclose the departments its newly qualified (NQ) solicitos would be qualifying into.
Seán Lavin, partner and head of graduate recruitment at Macfarlanes, said:
“We are really pleased once again to have achieved 100% retention of our trainees for the March qualification round. This is consistent with our aim to offer long-term careers to as many of our trainees as possible. We regard our trainees as the future talent of the firm and retaining them on qualifying is an important objective for us.”
Macfarlanes was a solid performer in this year’s Legal Cheek Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey, racking up A*s for its training and quality of work, and As for peer support, perks, office, canteen and social life.
News of the maintenance uplift follows similar money moves made by a number of top City outfits including Norton Rose Fulbright, Hogan Lovells and Herbert Smith Freehills. The London office of Chicago-headquartered Sidley Austin, however, tops the market for LPC grants; offering its rookies £11,000 in financial support. At the time, one Legal Cheek commenter went below the line and wrote:
“Long overdue and hopefully other firms follow their lead. Unless you have parents living in London or take out a supplemental loan, getting through the LPC year on the current market level grant is tough.”
The last major round of maintenance uplifts was way back in 2013, when Linklaters led the way in increasing them from £5,000 to £7,000.
