More Details on the Leading Law Firms & Training Contracts
Looking at the major and leading firms in the UK, there were 1357 training contracts on offer per year only, and these firms will receive 70,000 applications. It should be clear from these numbers that many people are therefore applying to multiple firms; which might mean that it is slightly easier than it would at first appear. However, taking these numbers, we find a 2% success rate. You are more likely to have success at leading regional firms, where there were ‘only’ 7310 applications for 184 training contracts, which provides a 2.5% success rate. It was found that the non-City firms in London, like Boodle Hatfield or Withers, were the most competitive, with only 1.15% of applications succeeding. These firms have small intakes, which perhaps explains this to an extent. American firms were also found to be especially competitive, even more so than the Magic Circle firms.
What About Pupillages?
Pupillages are tougher than training contracts, with only 1.5% of applications for pupillages being successful. For around 92 pupillages, there were more than 6000 applications. Again, remember that most students will have applied to numerous pupillages, so trying to find an exact rate of success is difficult – but taking that number without adjustment would lend the 1.5% success rate.Â