US Law Firm Mayer Brown Retains More Trainees
London trainees are seeing better opportunities when training under the tutelage of US law firms. More US firms are optimistic in gaining higher retention trainee percentage in contrast. However, the scenario differs from law firm to law firm.
Most US firms prefer to take in a large number of trainees because of their higher need for human resource. Retention probability of trainees for these law firms is abysmal to say the least. But for some law firms, those that enjoy retention rate as high as 100%, recruiting a small number of people is the key.
Says one recruitment manager, “We only ever recruit the number of people we think we’re going to need in two years’ time - as opposed to some other firms.”
The benefit of taking in only a small number of trainees is that it is very easy to lay out the road map. But taking a small number of recruits has its pitfalls too. A law firm that took only two trainees enjoyed 100% retention rate for 2 years since 2006. However, one of the trainees left the firm this year, which automatically brings down that firm’s retention rate to half.
Another thing that affects trainees’ retention is the economic issues faced by almost every industry today. London trainees who feel the pangs of economic decline feel unsure of the stability of their tenure. Mayer Brown, a top law firm with a global platform, believes that building a junior lawyer’s career is pivotal to building a firm’s positive reputation.
Steven Gare of Mayer Brown said, “You can build up the reputation for being a firm which treats people properly, or you get the reputation for hiring in good times and discarding people in bad times.”
Source: Read more about http://www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=134258&d=415&h=417&f=416″>Mayer Brown recruiting and retention rates.
