Declan Moloney, 05 March 2009
Law firms are paying graduates to defer starting work for a year to ensure future talent isn’t lost.

An article in Personnel Today suggests that some graduates are being offered up to £10,000 pounds to wait till next year before beginning work.

Other firms, including DLA Piper, Baker & McKenzie, and Penningtons, are offering trainees at least £5,000 to defer, even if it means the recruits work for other law firms as paralegals during that time. London-based trainee lawyers can earn as much as £30,000 a year.

Andrea Law, training and graduate recruitment manager at Penningtons, said “It's completely voluntary, and still four of our 11 recruits for 2009 have accepted, which is good news. We're hoping they'll travel or work and gain interpersonal and business skills, although the fact we've already chosen them shows they are ready to join us."