Dechert has refused to comment on reports that it has retained just half its qualifying trainees, while Squire Patton Boggs has also rejected enquiries.

A source told RollOnFriday that Dechert had kept on just 50% of its trainee intake qualifying this autumn. The firm, either too ashamed or just deeply secretive, refused to either confirm the result or offer up one of its own. A spokeswoman said, "Dechert does not publicly disclose this information".

Fellow US firm Squire Patton Boggs pulled a similar trick, telling RollOnFriday that it would not release any trainee retention figures. When it was pointed out that UK firms release the stats as a matter of course, not least because some students rely in part on the knowledge of which firms might keep them on, a spokesman said "65%", but gave no more details. 

The cover-up was extended flawlessly to career fairs.

Other firms demonstrated a higher regard for transparency, and their potential future recruits, even when their results were mixed. CMS announced that it was keeping on 43 of its 65 trainees as NQs, yielding a 66% retention rate, plus four more on fixed term contracts. That figure includes qualifiers from Olswang and Nabarro, who were added to/dropped from the mix when CMS swallowed up their firms in May.

Elsewhere, Norton Rose Fulbright is retaining 63% of its 26 qualifying trainees on a permanent basis, with eight leaving the firm, two of whom resigned. Of the 18 remaining, 16 received and accepted NQ offers and two have taken fixed term contracts. Addleshaw Goddard has retained 38/47 trainees, a decent 81% rate, while Clyde & Co managed 79%. Here's the full breakdown, with gaps for those shy yanks:



If you can fill in the gaps, let RollOnFriday know with a confidential tip.