Strange goings-on at Trowers & Hamlins
There is a surreal story doing the rounds this morning about a really weird telephone conversation between a wannabe trainee and a graduate recruiter at City law firm Trowers & Hamlins.
The exchange — which apparently happened in the run-up to Christmas but has only just come to light — began when the legal hopeful, who has recently completed the Legal Practice Course, called up the mid-sized firm to ask whether they had any training contracts available.
Having been informed that Trowers’ graduate recruitment manager was on holiday, the aspiring solicitor was put through to another staff member. That person then proceeded to discourage the lad from applying to the firm, suggesting that a 2:1 from Durham and AAB at A-level wasn’t good enough for them, before allegedly revealing that she was drunk.
Legal blog RollOnFriday quotes the graduate as saying:
“I had the strangest conversation where she told me it probably wasn’t worth me applying (apparently AAB and a 2:1 from Durham doesn’t cut it) and the call ended with her saying ‘sorry, I’m a bit drunk’.”
Whether alleged inebriation has affected newly-qualified solicitor retention policies as well at the firm remains open to debate. Trowers was the first out of the block in the City to announce how many lucky trainees would be kept on. But whereas a year ago that figure was 100%, this year it dipped to 82%. One trusts the management team deciding on who stayed and who went was not simply tired and emotional by the end of the process, letting a few fall off the end.
When contacted by Legal Cheek this morning to discuss its recruitment and alcohol policies, Trowers & Hamlins declined to comment.