Freshfields has confirmed rumours of a weak showing this autumn and unveiled a trainee retention rate of 66%, while Forsters NQs-to-be must throw their firm a space-themed party. 

The Magic Circle firm is keeping on just 27 of 41 trainees, having made offers to 29. That's well below normal for Freshfields, which reached 95% last autumn and has retained between 80-95% of its trainees since March 2014 (77%). Freshfields' result is also poor compared to the other Magic Circle firms to have posted their rates so far. Allen & Overy announced an 85% rate this week, while Slaughter and May is keeping 91% of its qualifying cohort. 

Farah Ispahani, Freshfields' trainee development partner, said, “Our retention rates across each intake vary as we balance a number of different factors when determining the offers that we make to individuals. We are committed to our existing level of training contracts in London and we expect our medium-term average for retention rates to be upheld”. So it just has to retain 120% of trainees next March. RollOnFriday understands that at least six of the leavers are jumping ship for US firms, where they will be compensated for life outside the Magic Circle with immense hours and almost as immense salaries. 

Dentons has also put in a sub-par showing, confirming a mole's tip that it is retaining 14/21 trainees in London and 5/7 in Milton Keynes and Watford. The result is a 68% rate, the same as last year.

Elsewhere, Latham & Watkins is keeping an impressive 95% of its qualifiers, with just one of its 22 trainees leaving the firm. And Forsters is retaining all eight of its trainees qualifying this autumn. Managing Partner Paul Roberts said, "We are delighted to welcome our newly qualified solicitors into their new roles. It has been a long-standing tradition of the firm for NQs to host a party for the firm and this year is no different. The theme is ‘Space’ and we expect the party to be a blast!” Mm.

In Forsters no-one can hear you scream.

Freshfields is not the only firm in the retention sin bin. Shearman & Sterling has had to revise its retention rate after neglecting to include two trainees who are leaving. The firm reported a strong 87% recently, claiming that 13 out of 15 of its final seat trainees were staying on. But a source told RollOnFriday that a sixteenth trainee was missing and another had chosen not to take up their NQ job at the US firm. Shearman confirmed that a trainee accepted an offer only to change their mind once the firm had announced its retention rate to the press. In a less blameless omission, it also confirmed that HR omitted a trainee from the stats entirely after s/he removed him/herself from the selection process in April. There's one firm every year. All the more silly given that Shearman's actual 75% rate isn't bad.