Birmingham firm Shoosmiths can consider itself named and shamed for continuing to demand fees and maintenance grants back from its departing trainees.

The firm is insisting that trainees who go to other firms within a year of qualifying have to repay the £12,500 grant they received for the LPC. Last year the firm claimed that every case was looked at individually and that it had only enforced this tightest-of-tight clause once - but RollOnFriday understands it has been at it again.
     

An ex-Shoosmiths trainee loses the shirt from his back yesterday

       

Scroogesmiths is not the only firm to pursue this approach as last year's RollOnFriday Hall of Shame demonstrated. A spokeswoman for the firm told RollOnFriday that "when we offer a training contract which includes funding to pay for LPC fees and a living allowance up to a specified amount, trainees accept the offer on the absolute understanding that there are certain commitments which will have to be met and accepted by that potential trainee and one of those is that they need to stay with the firm for a year after qualifying".

Some might feel that grants should be an incentive for students to join a firm, not a form of commercial bondage. If you think this behaviour is unacceptable then you can click here to join the RollOnFriday petition to shame Shoosmiths into abandoning this Dickensian behaviour.