Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has raised its newly-qualified (NQ) solicitor salary to £100,000, the first magic circle firm to do so.
It is an 18 per cent increase on the £85,000 Freshfields previously paid NQs. The firm set that rate in 2016. Trainee salaries remain unchanged however, at £45,000 for first-years and £51,000 for second-years.
The move is a reflection of the recruiting power of the American firms in London, many of which already lure graduates with NQ pay packets well in excess of £100,000. The other magic circle firms will almost certainly follow suit.
The now-collapsed American firm Bingham McCutchen became the first firm to pay NQs £100,000 in London back in 2010.
The current top of the market is in the region of £145,000 (tied to fluctuations in the US dollar), paid out by a number of American firms.
The pay rises took effect on 1 May.
The top of the market in London: a history
| Top-paying firm | Top-paying firm’s NQ salary | NQ salary at Freshfields | |
| 1998 | White & Case | £45,000 | £30,000 |
| 2001 | Cleary Gottlieb | £59,500 | £33,000 |
| 2002 | Sidley Austin | £75,520 | £50,000 |
| 2007 | Latham & Watkins | £88,000 | £55,000 |
| 2008 | Latham & Watkins | £96,000 | £65,000 |
| 2010 | Bingham McCutchen | £100,000 | £59,000 |
| 2015 | Akin Gump | £100,000 | £67,500 |
| 2016 | Milbank & ors | £124,000 | £67,500 |
| 2018 | Akin Gump & ors | £143,000 | £85,000 |
