We thought it was worth replicating two of this week’s posts to calculate the odds that a vacation clerk will be offered a graduate job among major Australian law firms. That is, by contrasting the estimated number of graduates taken on by the firm, compared with the estimated number of vacation clerks to be taken on, we can work out a rough estimate of the likelihood that a given vacation clerk will ultimately be offered a graduate job.

a four-week roll of the dice

The urban legend that a Baker & McKenzie vacation clerkship ‘isn’t worth the paper it is written on’, is apparently finally substantiated by these stats. Contrastingly, the odds are apparently stacked in favour of clerks at Corrs and Deacons this year.

NB: These statistics do not contemplate the situation where a non-vacation clerk is offered a graduate position. We don’t believe this would influence the percentages markedly.

Full Year 2009

• Allens Arthur Robinson 45% (94/206)
• Baker & McKenzie 35% (16/45)
• Blake Dawson 45% (85/185)
• Clayton Utz 65% (96/147)
• Corrs Chambers Westgarth 80% (53/66)
• Deacons 91% (43/47)
• DLA Phillips Fox 55% (43/77)
• Freehills 63% (120/190)
• Mallesons 54% (135/248)

Estimate for Full Year 2010

• Allens Arthur Robinson 47% (94/200)
• Baker & McKenzie 37% (16/40-45)
• Blake Dawson 45% (85/185)
• Clayton Utz 67% (80/118)
• Deacons 52% (22/42)
• DLA Phillips Fox 64% (40/62)
• Freehills 71% (105-110/140-160)

Yesterday, our friends at Lawyers Weekly reported that at the firms it had contacted, summer clerkship recruitment remains a ‘top investment priority’. The report published the following comments from Mallesons partner Trish Henry:

“We haven’t finalised numbers yet … but we would expect our numbers to be reduced slightly… But, as in past years, our summer clerkship program continues to be our main recruitment tool and where we want to get our graduates from. So it’s the heart of our recruitment strategy for our graduates.”

The article went on to report:

Summer clerkship co-ordinators also confirmed that they had no intention of reducing the number of graduate roles. Henry explained: “There are obviously a lot of rumours that fly around, and they do every year. But our approach this year is similar to previous years. We would hope that all our summer clerks, so long as they perform and they’re happy, would be taken on and we have no intention of reducing the number of graduates taken on out of the clerkship program.”

These sentiments conflict with the report produced by the AFR (04/09), which we reproduced earlier this week, that Mallesons estimates a 25% drop in the number of graduates it will recruit in 2010 compared with 2009. It goes without saying that the comments are out of sync with the above statistic that only 54% of seasonal clerks at Mallesons will commence a graduate role with the firm.

Does this mean 46% of vacation clerks don’t perform or are unhappy with the firm?

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