Eversheds has announced that it is asking its forthcoming trainees to defer their start dates at the same time as making cuts in its real estate practice group.
David Gray
The firm has offered 31 out of 73 of its September 2009 trainees £5,000 to defer entry or be employed as a paid paralegal for one year.
Eversheds chief executive David Gray said: “We realise that deferring trainee contracts could be unsettling for those affected.
“However, no firm has been immune to the difficult market conditions and whilst today’s news is regrettable we would ask our graduates to understand that we have had to act in the commercial interests of the firm as a whole in order to ensure that when they do arrive they’ll get the very best and busiest start to their careers.”
Eversheds is the latest in a line of firms to take this stance with Linklaters one of the most recent to do so. Last week the magic circle firm asked for around 15 volunteers to defer their start dates from September 2009 and March 2010 in a bid to “fine tune” its trainee intakes (http://l2b.thelawyer.com/linklaters-asks-trainees-to-wait/1000359.article 9 April).
Meanwhile, the national firm has also cancelled all its summer vacation schemes and closed its graduate recruitment programme until 2010. A message on its graduate recruitment website reads: “Linked to this [the deferrals] we have also made the difficult decision not to accept further applications for Training Contracts. We will be assessing our position in 2010 and will reopen our on-line application system accordingly.”
A student who was due to do a summer vacation scheme with Eversheds said: “Doing a vacation scheme with Eversheds wasn’t just about getting a training contract with the firm. It would’ve also helped me to gain valuable work experience and given me something to add to my CV. I’m therefore incredibly disappointed.”
The firm said in a statement: “We have made a number of offers for 2011 and 2012 and, as a result of deferring some 2009 Trainees for one year, will not be making further offers at this time. We are therefore cancelling this summer’s Graduate Vacation Scheme, as we felt it was inappropriate to invite people to spend time with us with no option of a Training Contract offer at the end of it. We will be taking this time to review and refresh our graduate programme toreflect the changes in the market and will reopen it again in 2010.”
Eversheds’ deferral comes as the firm cuts a total of 10 lawyers from its real estate team due to challenging economic conditions.
Gray said: “The real estate market has been particularly badly hit as a result of the current economic climate and whilst this news is disappointing, it’s right that we have acted to secure the long-term sustainable health of our real estate team, which remains one of the largest and strongest in Europe.”
It’s quite interesting to see that they’re offering the opportunity to work as a paralegal for a year, if I was one of those affected I would choose that option because it may be difficult to find work elsewhere and five grand isn’t going to last too long.
I’m sure that the badly done by 40+ real estate solicitors would have jumped at the chance of securing their futures by defering their careers with the opportunity of a ‘complusory’ career break and £5K or even going part-time as other more caring firms have permitted rather than being being left high and dry!
Deferring training contracts is nothing new; the big guys were all doing it the last time round too. I’d say the offer is very low…I accepted a training contract to start in 1991 with a top 20 Law Firm which hit difficult times in the last recession, and the going rate 18 years ago was either £5k or all the costs of doing an LLM
Re the 40+ real estate solicitors – agreed a career break and job after would have been nice!! Quite harsh to be tipped out of your career with no clear job path thereafter in the downturn.