But lots of pretty good other firms do
The leading corporate law firms only very rarely hire trainees from their ample pool of paralegals, new research has found.
However, a host of fairly well-renowned outfits have very different policies — and award training contracts to a hefty proportion of graduates already working in paralegal roles with them.
The findings — from the magazine Lawyer2B (registration required) — show big name pair Bircham Dyson Bell and DAC Beachcroft to have granted, respectively, a whopping 80% and 60% of their 2015 training contracts to their paralegals.
At the other end of the spectrum, magic circle giant Allen & Overy awarded just 1% of its training contracts last year to its paralegals. The figures weren’t much cheerier at Macfarlanes, Norton Rose Fulbright, Osborne Clarke, Jones Day and Ashurst, where former paralegals made up between 3-5% of trainees.
The exception to the rule was Trower & Hamlins, which unusually for a fairly high-level City player recruited 40% of its trainees from its paralegal pool. Irwin Mitchell, Shoosmiths and the London office of US firm O’Melveny & Myers were the other big name firms to allow a substantial proportion of paralegals to progress onto training contracts.
Honourable mentions also go to Pinsent Masons and Addleshaw Goddard, whose 2015 trainee intake was made up of 18-20% paralegals.
The full list, which was topped by Midlands agricultural law practice Roythornes (all its trainees are ex-paralegals at the firm) is below, as compiled by Lawyer2B.
| FIRM | PERCENTAGE OF 2015 INTAKE RECRUITED FROM FIRM’S PARALEGALS | TOTAL NUMBER OF TRAINEES | NUMBER OF UK PARALEGALS |
| Roythornes | 100 | 14 | 30 |
| Veale Wasbrough Vizards | 83 | 16 | 42 |
| Bircham Dyson Bell | 80 | 11 | 12 |
| Stone King | 80 | 8 | 14 |
| DAC Beachcroft | 60 | 24 | Not disclosed |
| Paris Smith | 50 | 7 | 6 |
| Wright Hassall | 50 | 8 | 35 |
| Ashfords | 46 | 25 | 35 |
| Irwin Mitchell | 42 | 95 | Not disclosed |
| Langleys | 40 | 14 | 30 |
| Trowers & Hamlins | 40 | 40 | Not disclosed |
| Shoosmiths | 35 | 42 | 300 |
| Kingsley Napley | 33.3 | 11 | 44 |
| O’Melveny & Myers | 33 | 6 | Not disclosed |
| Woodfines | 33 | 5 | 7 |
| Bevan Brittan | 28 | 15 | 18 |
| Browne Jacobson | 25 | 18 | Not disclosed |
| Michelmores | 25 | 13 | 30 |
| Sidley Austin | 25 | 19 | Not disclosed |
| TWM | 25 | 4 | 3 |
| Collyer Bristow | 20 | 9 | 3 |
| Fladgate | 20 | 9 | 15 |
| Orrick | 20 | 10 | 7 |
| Pinsent Masons | 20 | 145 | 250 |
| Addleshaw Goddard | 18 | 70 | 130 |
| Fieldfisher | 17 | 24 | 54 |
| Speechly Bircham | 13 | 48 | Not disclosed |
| Penningtons Manches | 9 | 30 | 10 |
| Withers | 9 | 23 | 11 |
| Holman Fenwick Willan | 8 | 26 | 4 |
| Baker & McKenzie | 7 | 62 | N/A |
| Burges Salmon | 7 | 55 | 10 |
| Mayer Brown | 7 | 28 | 15 |
| Ashurst | 5 | 80 | 10 |
| Jones Day | 5 | 37 | 13 |
| Osborne Clarke | 5 | 40 | 35 |
| Norton Rose Fulbright | 4 | 100 | Not disclosed |
| Macfarlanes | 3 | 58 | 37 |
| Nabarro | 3 | 47 | Not disclosed |
| Winckworth Sherwood | 2 | 12 | 8 |
| Allen & Overy | 1 | 174 | 30 |
| Kennedys | 1 | 36 | Not disclosed |