Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner has raised its salaries for trainees, as it announces that it is keeping on 76 per cent of its autumn 2020 qualifiers.

First-year trainees will now start on £44,000, an increase from £40,000, while second-years get an uplift from £45,000 to £48,000.

Meanwhile, 16 of the firm’s 21 qualifying trainees have been retained, all on permanent contracts. In London, 14 out of 19 trainees will stay at the firm, while two out of two trainees have been kept on in the firm’s Manchester office.

Seven of the newly qualified (NQ) solicitors will join the firm’s litigation practice, six go to corporate and financial transactions, two will join to real estate and one goes to the Office of General Counsel.

Of those not retained, two accepted roles elsewhere – at another law firm and an in-house organisation respectively. Three were unable to secure offers due to application competition.

Senior graduate recruitment and development manager Chloe Muir said: “Congratulations to our 2020 autumn cohort who overcame a tumultuous final few months. We are delighted to have attracted and retained such a high standard of talent. We wish them all the very best of luck for the future.”

Elsewhere, Simmons & Simmons has recorded a final retention rate of 72.2, after keeping on 13 of 18 trainees. The firm made offers to 13 of the 15 who went through the qualification process, with one being retained on a fixed-term contract.

Charles Russell Speechlys keeps on 19 of 26, including two on fixed-term contracts. Twelve join the London office, two are in Guildford, four in Cheltenham, and one in Bahrain.

Five become corporate lawyers, three join litigation, while two each go to construction, tax/trusts and real estate litigation. The remaining NQs join the firm’s employment/pensions, banking/finance, corporate tax, private wealth disputes and restructuring teams.

Bird & Bird has retained 16 of 18 in permanent roles, with six NQs joining its commercial team, four getting jobs in IP, two in corporate, two in litigation, one in tax and one in employment.

US firm Shearman & Sterling has kept on 10 of its 11 NQs in permanent positions, with eight staying in London and one each heading for the Abu Dhabi and Singapore offices.

Finally, Weightmans is keeping on 16 of 19 qualifiers, all on permanent contracts.

The latest results mean that with 38 firms reporting so far, 801 of 934 qualifying trainees have been kept on.