Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan is raising its NQ salaries in London to £146,000 following the recent hikes made by its US and UK counterparts in the City.
This represents an 8 per cent increase on the previous £135,000 salary, with the change coming into force on 1 July 2021.
This puts Quinn in a similar bracket to Debevoise & Plimpton, which recently increased its NQ salary from £134,800 to £143,700, which does not include a bonus payment.
However, it remains below Vinson & Elkins, which confirmed it will now be paying its youngest qualified fee-earners an annual base rate of £153,000, up from £147,500.
Quinn’s NQ change is part of a new salary scale for all London associates, set out below:
| 2021 – NQ | £135,000 | £146,000 |
| 2020 – NQ | £135,000 | £146,000 |
| 2019 – 1 PQE | £143,000 | £154,000 |
| 2018 – 2 PQE | £153,000 | £166,000 |
| 2017 – 3 PQE | £179,000 | £189,000 |
| 2016 – 4 PQE | £189,000 | £199,000 |
| 2015 – 5 PQE | £204,000 | £214,000 |
| 2014 – 6 PQE | £220,000 | £230,000 |
| 2013 – 7 PQE | £230-250,000 | £240-260,000 |
This latest increase at Quinn reflects the current competition for talent in the UK legal market, which has been exacerbated by the recent pay war initiated by US firms in London.
This was sparked by Milbank first increasing its NQ salary figures to $200,000 from $190,000, with the likes of Clifford Chance and Ashurst then following with changes to £100,000 and £90,000 respectively.
