The Brief:
Australia’s top firms reveal next year’s grad numbers, with Clayton Utz, Corrs and Allens cutting hardest.
Mallesons bucks the trend and grows, while Ashurst and G+T hold roughly steady.
Australia’s top law firms have revealed next year’s graduate intake, and it’s a mixed bag. Some are holding the line. Others are cutting hard.
Firm | 2027 Grads | 2026 Grads | 2025 Grads | 1Y Change | 2Y Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mallesons | 98 | 94 | 109 | +4.26% | -10.09% |
Gilbert + Tobin | 62 | 62 | 39 | 0.00% | +58.97% |
Allens | 95* | 96 | 108 | -1.04% | -12.04% |
Ashurst | 83 | 86 | 82 | -3.49% | +1.22% |
Corrs Chambers Westgarth | 90 | 99 | 93 | -9.09% | -3.23% |
Clayton Utz | 64 | 72 | 69 | -11.11% | -7.25% |
Source: Firm-supplied figures
* Estimated intake
Clayton Utz takes the biggest hit, down 11.11% to 64 grads for 2027. Corrs isn’t far behind at 90, down 9.09%.
Allens looks stable at first instance, just 1.04% lower at 95. But over two years it’s down 12.04%, the largest two-year drop on the list.
Ashurst and G+T are the steadiest. Ashurst dips 3.49% to 83. G+T didn’t move at all, holding at 62. But G+T’s two-year number tells a different story. Intake is up 58.97% on 2025’s low base of 39, the biggest swing on the table.
Mallesons is the only firm growing, up 4.26% to 98. Even with the bounce, 2027 is still 10.09% below 2025’s peak of 109. The firm says it made “fewer offers for 2026” after “two record years of acceptances,” and expects the number could increase again in 2027.
HSF Kramer and Minter Ellison haven’t locked in next year’s intake yet. But Minters has already made news this year, slashing its FY26 cohort by almost a third to 72, partly citing AI eating into routine, lower-level work. Whether those cuts continue remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, over in the UK, AI hasn't dented trainee intake much. Trainee places across 109 firms dipped just 1.7%, from 2,593 to 2,549.