Ropes & Gray and Latham & Watkins have set out plans to expand their trainee programmes in London, as both firms post strong retention rates for their autumn qualifying intakes in the City.

Ropes has retained all five of its newly qualified (NQ) lawyers – the first batch to qualify with the firm in the City – with the autumn intake including a number of ex-Dewey & LeBoeuf trainees cast adrift when the firm collapsed last year.

The US firm – which launched a City office in January 2010 with the hire of high-profile finance duo Maurice Allen and Mike Goetz – is looking to take on six trainees in 2014, rising to between eight and 10 per year after three years.

Ropes' first group of trainees qualify in the next three weeks, four of whom will join the finance practice, with one joining the restructuring group. A further three trainees who had secured training contracts with Dewey prior to its demise are due to start at Ropes in September, while another former Dewey trainee has completed her second seat at the firm.

Last year Ropes' London office took on one trainee, who had been in her last seat at Dewey, as a newly-qualified lawyer. "She's now one year post-qualification, doing fantastically in the banking team," said training principal and restructuring partner Daniel Martin.

Commenting on last year's decision to take on trainees, Martin said: "As well as the desire to have trainees and junior lawyers, there were the altruistic factors of wanting to help these trainees out; this gave us the opportunity."

Meanwhile, Latham is keeping on all but one of its autumn intake, with 13 of 14 NQs (93%) taking jobs at the elite US firm. The firm is set to take on 21 new trainees in September, representing a doubling of the firm's London trainee programme since 2008.

cline-nick"It's critical to the future success of our business that we continue to recruit the best junior talent," said office managing partner Nick Cline (pictured).

"We hope our global network and the opportunity to get involved in high profile, cross-border work from the outset continues to appeal."

Elsewhere, none of the five trainees qualifying with Orrick this month have been kept on by the firm, with four of the group not receiving offers, and the remaining trainee excluding themself from the process, according to the firm

Orrick – which says it does not distinguish between March and August qualifiers – maintains its overall retention rate for the calendar year is 25%. In March, two trainees qualified into the firm's litigation and corporate practices, with the third opting not to apply.