Linklaters increases LPC grant by 40%
15 March 2013
Linklaters has dramatically boosted the size of its GDL and LPC maintenance grants. Students with training contract offers from the firm who join courses after 1 April this year will now be better maintained than any of their Magic Circle peers.

GDL and LPC students with training contracts often receive maintenance grants on top of their course fees. And Linklaters will increase its £6k grant for students studying the GDL outside of London to £7k. And the firm's students in the capital will get £8k, up from £7k. The new grants are £550 higher than those provided by second-placed Slaughter and May and £2k (25%) more than Allen & Overy's.

A Linklaters student conserving his grant yesterday

Linklaters' future LPC students will also be celebrating. Their grants have risen from £5k to £7k, a massive 40% increase and more than enough to keep them in Red Bull and ringbinders during their seven-month stint at the College of Law. It means that Linklaters will also offer the biggest LPC grant of the Magic Circle.

	GDL	LPC
Allen & Overy	£6k in London, £5k elsewhere	£6k in London, £5k elsewhere
Clifford Chance	£6k	£4.9k
Freshfields	£6,250	£6k
Linklaters	£8k in London, £7k elsewhere	£7k
Slaughter and May	£7,450 in London, £6,450 elsewhere	£5,580

However Linklaters' new figures are not the best in the City. Jones Day already showers £8k on both its GDL and LPC students. And Links might not have long before the rest of the Magic Circle decide to catch up. Still, if that happens it can always wheel out its pioneering all-nighter simulator to wow potential new recruits.

The firm's grad rec partner Simon Branigan said, "We want to attract the best people, no matter what their background...we are aware that many of our future trainees cannot rely on financial support from their families and we are keen to support them".