[QUOTE=Unregistered;215053]Ahahaha this is funny. Gone are the days where Big4 could pick and choose the top graduates. A&G used to not take laterals from smaller / lesser firms (e.g. Rodyk) and nowadays I’ve seen laterals coming in from the firms A&G used to shun. There’s no one left to hire since practically almost all the capable lawyers get snapped up by the top international firms.[/QUOTE

your point doesn't negate his, which is that Big 4 picks the best trainees... these trainess could leave practice after or switch to international, in which case the laterals come in to plug the gap.

In fact - this development is a good thing. Big 4 used to be able to absorb the entirety of the local cohort - everyone deserves the chance to receive the same training and prove themselves in practice. You seem to assume that being a top graduate would translate to practice - while the correlation is there it is not as causative as you seem to suggest.