The proportion of trainees winning places at top firms has increased this year to an average of 83%, figures for the September intake show.

Magic circle firm Slaughter and May reported the highest retention rate, 90%, offering placements to 46 trainees. Rival Clifford Chance said 80% of its 60 trainees had been retained.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer reported an acceptance rate of 81% for its 39 trainees.

Herbert Smith Freehills retained 88% of its trainees, offering 30 placements. Mishcon de Reya reported 86% retention, keeping six out of seven trainees.

At DLA Piper 73% of trainees received places, while Berwin Leighton Paisner reported an 86% retention rate, representing 18 places.

City firm Ashurst also confirmed its September intake of 80%, keeping 24 trainees.

Last year, research from the Chambers Student guide found leading firms retained 79% of their trainees. The guide’s editor, Anthony Cooke, said retention rates dropped in 2012 because of an unusually large qualifying class, as many training contracts had been deferred.

‘In 2013 we’re not burdened with deferral overflows, so a smaller qualifying class should mean more optimistic retention rates,’ he said.

Heather Iqbal-Rayner, chair of the Law Society Junior Lawyers Division, said: ‘At the moment we are not seeing a problem with retention in the top law firms, which is less of an issue as these firms will have paid the training fees and so are more likely to offer trainees a place.

‘But with cuts to legal aid we are getting a lot of enquiries from members who are not getting offered places in high street firms. One solution is for them to move into a new area of law, but that can be very difficult when you are newly qualified.’