White & Case keeps 15 of its 18 London NQs following 17% salary hike

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By Thomas Connelly on

English-qualified lawyers wanted despite Brexit, says US megafirm

White & Case’s London office has announced a positive autumn 2017 retention rate of 83%.

The New York-headquartered behemoth, which offers around 50 City training contracts annually, has revealed that of its 18 trainees due to qualify this autumn, 15 had accepted permanent positions at the firm.

Legal Cheek’s Most List shows that White & Case’s newly qualified (NQ) lawyers will earn a recently improved salary of £105,000. This puts the firm’s fresh-faced associates on pay par with their peers at Shearman & Sterling. White & Case first year trainees pocket £46,000, rising to £50,000 in year two.

The NQs will spread across several of the firm’s practice areas including banking, commercial litigation, intellectual property, international arbitration, mergers & acquisitions and tax. White & Case confirmed that one lawyer would be joining its Moscow office.

Justin Benson, head of White & Cases trainee solicitor programme in London, said:

White & Case continues to have a strong requirement for English-qualified lawyers to support clients globally on deals and disputes, and this requirement continues despite any uncertainty caused by Brexit.

Traditionally, White & Case is a solid retention performer. In the last three rounds it’s notched up results of 88% (15 out of 17), 75% (15 out of 20) and 87% (13 out of 15).

The US outfit’s London office secured several top scores in Legal Cheek’s Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey. It achieved an A* for international secondment opportunities, as well as As for training, quality of work, perks and social life.

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