Trio of firms post contrasting results
Osborne Clarke, Gowling WLG and Mills & Reeve have revealed their autumn retention figures.
Osborne Clarke has kept hold of 11 of its 12 trainees who qualified earlier this month. Equating to an impressive retention figure of 92%, the firm, which offers around 20 training contracts annually, has revealed five of the new associates will be based at its Bristol office. Four will be starting life as a lawyer at Osborne Clarke’s London office, while the remaining two are Reading bound.
The firm’s new London recruits will soon be pocketing a salary of £62,500, while those based in Bristol and Reading will earn £50,000 and £47,000 respectively.
According to Osborne Clarke, the outfit’s corporate, projects and commercial litigation teams will receive two newly qualified (NQ) lawyers each, while planning, employment, commercial, banking and construction litigation will gain an NQ each.
Ray Berg, Osborne Clarke’s UK managing partner said:
During the past two years these trainees have shown outstanding commitment to learning and growing their skills. They are a very talented group who will support a broad range of our sector clients and I look forward to their future contributions.
Earlier this year, the firm unveiled a perfect spring retention score of 100%. From a relatively small trainee intake of just seven, all put pen to paper on permanent deals.
Next up, Gowling WLG. The firm — newly named thanks to a merger earlier this year between City outfit Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co and Canadian outfit Gowlings — has posted an autumn figure of 78%.
From a qualifying cohort of 23, the firm has secured the services of 18, including one on a fixed term contract. So — for the more fastidious of you out there — the firm has either posted a retention score of 78% or 74%, depending on if you include the one NQ on a fixed term deal.
As for the destination of the NQs, ten associates will start life as a lawyer in London, while eight will head north to Birmingham. The firm, which offers around 30 training contract positions each year, pays its London NQs £58,000.
Finally, Cambridge-headquartered Mills & Reeve has confirmed an autumn retention result of 75%. From a cohort of 16, the firm made 14 offers, with 12 accepting. Eight new lawyers will be based in Cambridge, two in Birmingham, one in Manchester and one in Norwich.
The firm has also revealed its corporate and commercial team will receive the lion’s share of the NQs — five in total. Three will be heading to real estate, while private client, commercial disputes, employment and banking will gain a new associate each.