Simmons & Simmons has raised its starting salaries for newly qualified lawyers in both its London and its Bristol offices from New Year’s Day.
The base salary for its London office has increased from £88,000 to £100,000, a rise of 14 per cent. In Bristol, its salaries have been bumped up from £56,000 to £68,000, a rise of 21 per cent.
Earlier this year, the company raised its NQ salaries to the tune of 4 per cent. London-based NQs saw their pay increase from £84,000 to £88,000, while those working in the Bristol office saw their salary upped from £53,500 to £56,000.
The increase in London puts Simmons & Simmons on a par with some of the square miles highest-paying UK firms. All four magic circle firms raised their NQ salary levels to £100,000, while Slaughter and May went one better by raising its salaries for NQs 7.5 per cent from £100,000 to £107,500.
The NQ increase at Simmons comes at the end of a calendar year that saw profit per equity partner fall just short of the £1m threshold. Simmons’ PEP of £980,000 in the 2020/21 financial year was a 30-per-cent increase from the previous year’s £756,000. Revenue also grew 12 per cent last year to £437m from £390m.
