The REAL REASON training contract numbers are falling (clue: it’s not AI - yet)

The Legal Cheek Podcast is proudly independent. Thanks to our sponsor Simpson Thatcher, home of the private equity training contract, for making that possible: https://ukearlycareers.stblaw.com/ Training contract numbers across 100 Legal Cheek Most List firms have fallen by 2% this year, but what is really driving this decline, and why is it not as dramatic as we may have expected?In this episode, Legal Cheek founder and publisher Alex Aldridge sits down with events co-ordinator Hannah Thompson to dissect the latest figures and what they mean for future lawyers.Everyone is talking about AI as a disruptive force in the graduate recruitment market but is its influence being overstated? To what extent is the rapid growth of solicitor apprenticeships behind the 2% decrease? And how do these figures fit into the wider graduate jobs market?Together, they discuss the trends behind the data and why the outlook for aspiring solicitors may be brighter than headlines suggest.