S5E13: Is soaring NQ pay impacting trainee retention rates?

The Legal Cheek podcast is BACK! This week we kick off by discussing the recent rises in salaries for newly qualified lawyers. We dig into what this means for the legal industry as well as addressing complaints of "salary bunching" from lawyers further up the food chain.And is this continual rise in NQ pay having an affect of the amount of qualifying trainees that firms keep on? We examine reports that retention rates are dropping and discuss the figures which firms have released so far.Finally, we touch on a student-led petition to reform the Solicitors Qualifying Exams (SQE) which has garnered attention from mainstream media outlets as well as from former home secretary Suella Braverman. Is this an example of Gen Z snowflake culture (as Braverman suggests) or valid criticism of a flawed set of exams?Read more about these stories on Legal Cheek:https://www.legalcheek.com/2025/08/im-not-a-wet-lettuce-trainee-solicitor-behind-sqe-petition-hits-back-at-bravermans-snowflake-jibe/https://www.legalcheek.com/2025/07/beyond-nq-whats-the-salary-progression-like-at-your-firm/https://www.legalcheek.com/2025/08/clifford-chance-retains-49-of-57-qualifying-trainees/https://www.legalcheek.com/2025/07/mayer-brown-matches-magic-circle-nq-pay-at-150k/