Freshfields has offered 40 NQ contracts to a total qualifying trainee pool of 42, securing an impressive 95 per cent retention rate for the autumn round. The result is a sizeable step up from the 82 per cent retention rate announced by the firm in the spring, when 33 out of 38 qualifiers were awarded contracts and only 31 opted to stay on. The firm’s stronger result comes in the wake of a recent hike in NQ pay at Freshfields. In May, it was confirmed that NQ lawyers at the firm will now be taking home £85,000 – a staggering 26 per cent more than in 2015 and, alongside Clifford Chance, the thickest pay packet in the Magic Circle.

Source: Legal Cheek