The associate recruitment market has tightened up over the past year or two. For trainees looking to qualify, it means that finding a home in their preferred practice area has become more difficult too. Qualification and, specifically, which team you qualify into, can be one of the most crucial moments in a solicitor’s career. On […]
Magic circle firm Clifford Chance will keep 42 of its 56 qualifying trainees this September, meaning its retention is 75 per cent. A total of 54 trainees applied from newly qualified (NQ) positions at Clifford Chance, meaning just two chose not to remain at the firm. There were 44 offers made to the soon-to-be qualified […]
Baker McKenzie is the latest firm to increase its London newly-qualified (NQ) solicitor pay, with the new rate jumping 18.6 per cent from £118,000 to £140,000. The new NQ rate took effect on 1 July and will also be soon followed by an increase to Bakers’ trainee pay. From 1 September this year the firm […]
Reed Smith has increased its newly-qualified (NQ) solicitor salary to £125,000 in its first rise since announcing a hike in 2021. From September this year, the firm is set to increase base salaries for NQs from £107,500 with all other associate-level salaries expected to rise in line with the change. The new compensation structure means […]
In its first round of qualifiers as a newly-merged firm, A&O Shearman has retained 37 of its combined cohort of 56 trainee solicitors. A total of 48 trainees applied to qualify at the firm, but only 39 were made offers, with 37 accepting. Retention is therefore posted at 66 per cent, with no qualifiers on […]
DLA Piper has once again raised pay for its newly-qualified lawyers (NQs), setting a new standard in the regions with a £6,500 increase. The firm’s regional NQ salary will go up to £75,000 from September, up 9 percent from the previous £68,500 implemented in 2023. In early 2022, DLA Piper was among the first to […]
Herbert Smith Freehills has increased its compensation package for its trainee solicitors and newly-qualified (NQ) solicitors, with NQs now earning £135,000. NQ pay at the firm will increase 12.5 per cent from £120,000 to £135,000 – a figure that now surpasses that of Slaughter and May which decided to remain at £125,000 in June. Trainees […]
Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison is to match its US rivals on newly-qualified (NQ) solicitor pay, with a pledge to start taking on trainee solicitors in London. The firm is expected to have its first cohort of trainee solicitors start in London in September 2026. Trainee pay is currently undisclosed but the firm will […]
Bird & Bird and Holman Fenwick Willan are the latest firms to announce pay increases for their newly-qualified solicitors, with the latter rising to £100,000. HFW has increased its pay from £95,000 to £100,000, while Bird & Bird has put in place a slightly lower rise of £3,000 to £98,000. Bird & Bird’s increase comes […]
A general counsel – who qualified as a barrister – has taken to networking platform LinkedIn to protest against rules meaning she cannot sign off qualifying work experience (QWE) for those undertaking the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE). Natalie Connor, a VP of legal at Crowdcube and consultant GC for Legal Edge, has worked as a […]
Macfarlanes has increased its pay for newly-qualified solicitors by £25,000, as UK firms respond to rates set by the magic circle last month. The City firm has upped pay for NQs from £115,000 to £140,000, a rise of nearly 22 per cent. This heaps pressure on firms that include Slaughter and May on £125,000 and […]