Hogan Lovells joins raft of firms upping LPC maintenance grants by 25%
Future rookies to receive £12,500 in financial support
Hogan Lovells has become the latest City law firm to increase the financial support for future trainees undertaking the Legal Practice Course (LPC).
The outfit, which recruits around 50 trainees each year, confirmed to Legal Cheek that its maintenance grant has increased from £10,000 to £12,500. The 25% uplift applies to the firm’s February and August 2022 LPC cohorts.
Hogan Lovells is part of the City Consortium and sends future trainees to study the seven-month, accelerated LPC at BPP University Law School. The firm last increased maintenance grants in 2018.
The extra cash follows similar moves made by fellow Consortium members Herbert Smith Freehills, Freshfields and Slaughter and May, as well as the likes of Ashurst and Clifford Chance.
Last month we reported that Hogan Lovells had joined the City pay war with an improved base rate of £107,500 for newly qualified associates.
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21 Comments
Adam
Wonder when the US firms will increase theirs?
Anonymous
I’m a future trainee at a US firm and starting the LPC this year. My firm appears reluctant to budge on increasing its LPC grant, simply because ‘not many’ other firms have done so.
I appreciate a grant is generous in nature, but the expectation that we devote our ‘full’ time and attention to studying while magically meeting the cost of living in London on £1.11k pcm (£10k / 9 month LPC) is absurd.
Hogan Lovells et al. – good on you for taking steps ahead of the pack. Their LPC candidates are more likely to live ‘comfortably’ on £1.78k pcm (£12.5k / 7 month LPC).
I understand that trainee and NQ salaries are generous, and they will *hopefully* come, but given the exponentially increasing cost of living in London, 9 months is long enough to worry about.
RedRabbit
Does this firm rhyme with Fight and Lace by any chance?
I heard from some future trainees in my LPC class that they requested for more but were rejected.
Their TC onboarding process is a shambles too. At my (MC) firm we have had regular insight sessions and we got the date for TC start ages ago but they have had to beg their HR and Grad Rec teams to give them information about the TC start.
Fight & Lace LPC Student
Can confirm that this is true lmaooo
It has actually been a shambles
Reality Check
It’s ridiculous that it has taken this long to even increase it.
For those doing their LPC and TC in London, 10k was never enough to cover rent and living expenses for a 10 month course unless you are wealthy.
This whole TC process really shows you differences in class and wealth and how those from low socioeconomic backgrounds have to struggle whilst others can do everything in ease.
I noticed people in my cohort whose parents put down a deposit on a house for them for their TC or paid for their entire accommodation for the LPC and TC.
They simply just got to pocket their entire grant into savings whereas others from not so privileged we’re living in tiny bed shares and working part time jobs to survive.
They should apportion the grant according to the length of LPC and perhaps offer according to financial background.
JL
I’m an associate now but during my TC I noticed that those who came from wealthier backgrounds had much better living circumstances during the TC than those who were from lower socioeconomic background
Even though we are all on the same salary, the privileged trainees lived about 10 mins walk from the office so right in the centre and they could afford the higher rent and living expenses but there were others who really had to tightly budget and were staying in tiny rooms in bed shares with shared bathrooms like broke uni students
Lord Finsbury
Didn’t realise Clapham/ Battersea/ Fulham were a 10 minute walk from the City
Ray
It’s not just about wealth but privilege in other ways too
I’m a trainee at a MC firm but I have moved here from Manchester and noticed that the trainees who already live in London and commute from their homes are saving so much by not paying rent and also some of them have mentioned that they don’t have high living expenses as their parents get the groceries, do their laundry amongst other things
Whyoming
This. All of the “diversity” and “equality” talk by firms is a joke. Londoners/commuters live at home and get the same grant as a Northerner
Bongos
Yeah… I am a MC trainee and I am totally privileged to be commuting from my council estate home in Dagenham (I can’t really move out right now because my (single) mum is disabled and my only other sibling is out of London for university).
Screw your head on.
Anonymous
Anyone know the how much maintenance grant future HL SQE trainees will be getting?
Joe
Ask grad rec m8
boo
17000
Anonymous
Thanks!
sad future us trainee
us future trainees get in touch with your firms and point this out, how tf are they still justifying giving us less than 60% of what silver circle firms are now dishing out
Anonymous
Haha enjoy your time at the sweatshop!
Immigrant
If you’re an international student, make the argument with your training contract provider that any maintenance under £12,006 does not meet the Home Office requirements for a study route visa. You need at least £1,334 per month (for up to 9 months) for LPC/GDL courses in London.
Caveat is that this requirement only applies if you are applying outside of the U.K. and are not exempt under the ‘differential evidence requirement.’ In any case, this also shows how much the U.K. government expect international students to have as living costs studying a full-time course in London without needing to work.
See more info: https://www.gov.uk/student-visa/money
A
The firm Increased Birmingham salary to £70k for NQs. That’s the highest regional salary and getting no recognition
I T Mann
You will be earning what I am earning now as a 50 year old middle class Finance guy once you qualify. So, enough about how you feel disadvantaged because you arent MC or how its unfair that law firms pay what you consider to be a low maintenance grant.
Anonymous
I don’t think you’ve properly read the above, Mr Middle Class Finance Guy.
Nobody is complaining about not being at a MC firm; this is a very straightforward (and reasonable) gripe with the pittance that big firms provide their future trainees while doing the LPC.
Pray tell, how do you suggest living on £1k a month in London?
Big boy
Still waiting on CMS 😔
Comments are closed.