Newly qualified lawyers at Allen & Overy are brushing up their CVs after the firm announced that 30% of them could find themselves without a job on qualification.
In a meeting with trainees last week, training principal David Campbell said that only 70% of the September 2009 and March 2010 qualifiers were likely to be retained. Even given the firm's recent redundancy announcement, it is shocking news. A&O kept on 86% of its 2008 qualifiers and nearly 90% in 2007. The fact that it's looking to ditch such a large chunk of its future talent is clear evidence that A&O believes that it must slim down substantially in response to a prolonged downturn.
A&O's trainee retention rate... and not in a good way |