Freshfields boosts associate pay

Freshfields, which was the first firm to lift its pay freeze in February, has now confirmed that it will be upping its newly qualified (NQ) pay to £60,000 from £59,000 -  a far cry from the £66,000 it had paid its NQs pre recession.

Meanwhile, an associate with one year’s post qualification experience (PQE) will take home £68,000 as opposed to £66,000 previously.

The salary for a two-year PQE has gone up from £73,000 to £75,000, while the three-year rate will be unchanged at £86,000.

Freshfields also confirmed that the pay for first year trainee solicitors will remain unchanged at £39,000, while second year trainees will continue to receive £44,000.

The news comes after Slaughter and May announced last week that it would also be unfreezing its salaries and moving associates up to the next pay band (see story).

The firm has also boosted associate salaries but has stopped short of increasing newly qualified (NQ) associate or trainee solicitors’ salaries meaning NQs will continue to pocket £61,000.

This puts Slaughters’ NQ salary on a par with Allen & Overy, which has recently announced a modest rise in associate pay for all its lawyers.

The salary for a two-year PQE  at A&O has gone from £65,000 to £74,000, while the three-year rate will be £85,000, up from £71,500 (see story).

Clifford Chance and Linklaters meanwhile have now emerged as the most generous employers in relation to NQ pay with both offering salaries of £61,500 (see story).