Bond Dickinson unveils 81% retention score as firm prepares for US mega merger

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By Thomas Connelly on

Tie-up with North Carolina’s Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice will go live next month

Bond Dickinson has posted a solid 81% autumn retention score just weeks before its US mega merger is scheduled to go live.

The national outfit, which dishes out around 30 training contacts each year, has confirmed it will retain 22 of its 27 rookie lawyers. Bond Dickinson revealed it had made 24 offers, including three to lawyers who qualified in March. Legal Cheek’s Most List shows that newly qualified lawyers (NQ) at the firm will earn a “competitive” salary.

Eleven soon-to-be associates will qualify into the firm’s corporate/commercial team, while real estate and dispute resolution will gain five NQs each. The final trainee will join the private wealth group’s charities department. Bond Dickinson’s latest recruits will be based in London, Aberdeen, Bristol, Leeds, Southampton and Newcastle.

Sam Lee, head of recruitment at Bond Dickinson, said:

Our people are at the very heart of what we do. We want them to enjoy long and successful careers with us and so we work hard to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to develop, grow and be rewarded for their success.

The firm — which has a profit per equity partner (PEP) of £265,000 — scored As for training, quality of work, peer support, partner approachability and work/life balance in our Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey.

The retention news comes just ahead of Bond Dickinson’s transatlantic tie-up with North Carolina-founded Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice. The merger was first revealed in June and is due to go live on 1 October, creating a new firm boasting a combined revenue of £340 million. The firm will be known as Womble Bond Dickinson.

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