Please Mr Morley, can I have some more?

Pay, glorious pay. Allen & Overy (A&O) has dug deep to stay ahead of its competitors in the pay war unleashed two weeks ago by Clifford Chance. Or at least, that's what we thought.

And that's what thousands of our readers on the web probably thought. And presumably that's what A&O's spinmeisters wanted us to believe.

This morning, the magic circle firm announced an 18 per cent increase for its associates with up to five years' PQE. Except it didn't. See story.

Because that was an average rise on the salaries before the last rise.

Confused? Yes, so were we.

When it comes to salaries, it's all smoke and mirrors. So it's probably best you don't believe a word they say until it hits your bank account.