Clydes' pay hikes track magic circle salary levels

Clyde & Co has posted above average pay rises for its trainees and newly qualified (NQ) solicitors in a bid to keep pace with the magic circle.

The top-20 firm has boosted its NQ rate by 6 per cent from £60,000 to £64,000 - just short of the magic circle salary range of £65,500 to £66,600.

First-year trainees at Clydes will now earn £35,000 - another increase of 6 per cent - while second-year trainees have seen their pay jump 8.5 per cent from £35,000 to £38,000.

The vast majority of firms have kept this year's pay rises below the rate of inflation. Some - including Allen & Overy, Herbert Smith, Norton Rose and Olswang - have frozen pay.

Bird & Bird associates have benefited from the most generous pay hikes, with first-year trainees celebrating a 19 per cent salary boost.