23 out of 25
Mills & Reeve has unveiled an autumn retention rate of 92%, with 23 of its 25 final-seat trainees staying on.
Those staying will join a range of departments, with the largest group heading to the outfit’s corporate & commercial Team. The remainder will be split across a number of practice areas: real estate, employment, insurance disputes, regulatory, public & commercial disputes, private client and family.
The Legal Cheek Firms Most List 2026 shows that Mills & Reeve typically recruits 30 trainees each year. NQs in London can expect a salary of £84,000, whilst the regional salaries in Cambridge, Bimingham, Leeds, Manchester and Norwich sit at £63,000.
Trainee retention rates round-up 🤝
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| Firm | Trainees | Retained | Retention Rate | NQ Destinations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wedlake Bell | 8 | 8 | 100% | 2 to insolvency; 1 each to commercial disputes, construction, corporate, tax, IP/commercial, and private client |
| Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer | 31 | 29 | 94% | Undisclosed |
| Mills & Reeve | 25 | 23 | 92% | 8 to corporate & commercial; 4 to real estate; 4 to employment; 2 to insurance disputes; 2 to private client; 2 to regulatory, public & commercial disputes; 1 to family |
| Irwin Mitchell | 53 | 48 | 91% | 14 to business services group; 12 to medical negligence; 9 to court of protection & public law & human rights; 8 to private client group; 4 to personal injury; 1 to general counsel |
| RPC | 18 | 16 | 89% | 6 to insurance; 6 to disputes (3 IP/tech, 2 commercial litigation, 1 media); 4 to corporate & commercial |
| Watson Farley & Williams | 18 | 16 | 89% | 5 to asset finance; 4 to project finance; 2 to corporate; 1 to debt capital markets; 2 to disputes and 1 to finance in Dubai; 1 to disputes in Bangkok |
| Mishcon de Reya | 30 | 26 | 87% | Undisclosed |
| Clifford Chance | 57 | 49 | 86% | Undisclosed |
| Macfarlanes | 28 | 24 | 86% | Undisclosed |
| White & Case | 22 | 19 | 86% | Capital Markets, Construction, Debt Finance, Financial Restructuring & Insolvency, International Arbitration, Mergers & Acquisitions, Project Development & Finance, and White Collar. Two trainees join the Firm’s offices in Singapore and Helsinki. |
| Baker McKenzie | 20 | 17 | 85% | 4 to disputes; 3 to employment; 2 each to corporate M&A and corporate energy & infrastructure; 1 each to corporate finance, corporate private equity, intellectual property, and financial services regulatory; 2 to antitrust & competition |
| Lewis Silkin | 6 | 5 | 83% | 2 to employment; 1 each to IP, corporate, and digital, creative & commerce |
| Linklaters | 40 | 33 | 83% | Undisclosed |
| Shoosmiths | 42 | 34 | 81% | 13 to corporate & banking; 6 to people & reward; 4 to litigation; 4 to commercial; 4 to real estate; 3 other/undisclosed — Office split: 8 London; 7 Manchester; 6 Birmingham; 2 Reading; 3 Solent; 2 Leeds; 2 Belfast; 2 Thames Valley; 1 Glasgow; 1 Milton Keynes |
| Bird & Bird | 20 | 15 | 75% | 5 to commercial; 5 to IP; 2 to disputes; 2 to corporate; 1 to employment |
| Pinsent Masons | 71 | 52 | 73% | 19 to finance & projects; 13 to transactional; 10 to property; 10 to risk advisory |
| A&O Shearman | 54 | 37 | 69% | Undisclosed |
| Eversheds Sutherland | 52 | 35 | 67% | Corporate Finance, Commercial Advisory, Litigation & Dispute Management, Employment, Labor & Pensions, and Real Estate. |
| Hogan Lovells | 24 | 16 (1 on FTC) | 67%/63% | 9 (10 including FTC) to corporate & finance; 4 to global regulatory & IP; 2 to litigation, arbitration & employment |
| Withers | 14 | 9 | 65% | Undisclosed |
