CMS Cameron McKenna is offering compensation to trainees who would accept delaying their start at the firm by 12 months.
Unnamed sources described as “close to the firm” tell
Legal Cheek that the firm is offering £8,000 (about $13,400) to trainees who would voluntarily defer the start of their training contracts.
It is understood that the decision to offer cash to trainees was made because CMS Cameron McKenna will be flooded with trainees due to its pending merger with London firms Nabarro and Olswang.
Legal Cheek notes that the merger is not due to be finalized until 1 May 2017 but both Nabarro and Olswang are now operating under CMS, the future name of the combined firms, during the autumn graduate recruitment campaign.
According to the publication, there are about 90 trainees who are due to start at CMS next year with 60 recruited by CMS, 20 by Nabarro and nine by Olswang. However, CMS is said to be able to accommodate only 60 trainees in next year’s two intakes.
Apart from its three-way marriage, CMS has also been recently reported to be eyeing a merger with a US law firm to further expand its global reach.
The firm was said to be in advanced merger talks with Virginia-headquartered Hunton Williams, which has around 19 offices around the world. According to
The Lawyer which first got word of the possible tie-up, the merger with Nabarro and Olswang wouldn’t have proceeded if it weren’t a precursor to a US merger.
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