Baker McKenzie is the latest firm to increase its London newly-qualified (NQ) solicitor pay, with the new rate jumping 18.6 per cent from £118,000 to £140,000. The new NQ rate took effect on 1 July and will also be soon followed by an increase to Bakers’ trainee pay. From 1 September this year the firm […]
Clifford Chance has altered its associate bonus review process in the UK, bringing it in line with offices in the US. The new system was introduced at the beginning of June and sees associates better rewarded when they are higher in demand – ultimately linking the number of hours billed to the individual’s bonus potential. […]
Reed Smith has increased its newly-qualified (NQ) solicitor salary to £125,000 in its first rise since announcing a hike in 2021. From September this year, the firm is set to increase base salaries for NQs from £107,500 with all other associate-level salaries expected to rise in line with the change. The new compensation structure means […]
DLA Piper has once again raised pay for its newly-qualified lawyers (NQs), setting a new standard in the regions with a £6,500 increase. The firm’s regional NQ salary will go up to £75,000 from September, up 9 percent from the previous £68,500 implemented in 2023. In early 2022, DLA Piper was among the first to […]
Herbert Smith Freehills has increased its compensation package for its trainee solicitors and newly-qualified (NQ) solicitors, with NQs now earning £135,000. NQ pay at the firm will increase 12.5 per cent from £120,000 to £135,000 – a figure that now surpasses that of Slaughter and May which decided to remain at £125,000 in June. Trainees […]
Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison is to match its US rivals on newly-qualified (NQ) solicitor pay, with a pledge to start taking on trainee solicitors in London. The firm is expected to have its first cohort of trainee solicitors start in London in September 2026. Trainee pay is currently undisclosed but the firm will […]
Bird & Bird and Holman Fenwick Willan are the latest firms to announce pay increases for their newly-qualified solicitors, with the latter rising to £100,000. HFW has increased its pay from £95,000 to £100,000, while Bird & Bird has put in place a slightly lower rise of £3,000 to £98,000. Bird & Bird’s increase comes […]
Macfarlanes has increased its pay for newly-qualified solicitors by £25,000, as UK firms respond to rates set by the magic circle last month. The City firm has upped pay for NQs from £115,000 to £140,000, a rise of nearly 22 per cent. This heaps pressure on firms that include Slaughter and May on £125,000 and […]
Salary increases across the City for newly-qualified lawyers has brought into sharp focus how much in-house lawyers are willing to pay for external counsel. Last week, US firm Goodwin upped its salary for NQs to £175,000 from £161,500. In May, Freshfields, Linklaters, Clifford Chance and A&O Shearman all boosted its pay for NQs by £25,000 […]
Sidley Austin has increased its base pay for newly-qualified (NQ) solicitors for the second time this year from £166,500 to £175,000. The pay increase will come into force from 1st July and is also understood to involve rises across the board for associates. Trainee solicitors will see a pay rise too, with first-year trainees moving […]
Hogan Lovells is the latest firm to join the pack in the NQ salary race, announcing an increase of almost 6 per cent for its most junior lawyers. The new NQ salary of £135,000 in London takes it above the pay packet offered by Slaughter and May, which recently announced it would not be increasing […]
Following the raft of newly-qualified salary rises in recent weeks, Slaughter and May is holding its pay for NQs at £125,000 – at least until November this year. Slaughters reviews its salary scales bi-annually in April and November and in its most recent review decided to keep pay for its most junior lawyers as is. […]