The global financial system creaked in protest as Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton cranked up trainee and junior associate pay to ensure that its staff remain amongst the most ludicrously well-paid in the City.

The US firm has increased trainee salaries in London by £2,000 and associate salaries by around £4,000. The hikes mean a Cleary NQ is now on £96,000 while a 2PQE tips into six figures. The rises don't take Cleary to the top of the US absurd-o-pay table, but as raises were also backdated to 1 January they're probably too busy drinking gold flakes and barbecuing unicorn to notice.

	1st seat trainee	NQ	1PQE	2PQE	3PQE
Cleary	£42,000 (£40,000)	£96,000 (£92,233)	£96,000 (£92,233)	£101,000 (£97,087)	£110,000 (£105,825)
Weil Gotshal & Manges	£41,000	£95,000	£98,500	£102,300	£114,600
Debevoise & Plimpton	£40,000	£94,250	£100,000	£109,000	£123,500
Skadden Arps	£40,000	£94,000	£94,000	£100,000	£110,000
Bingham	£40,000	£100,000	£100,000	£106,250	£115,625

Most of the US firms continue to play in a different league to the UK when it comes to pay. As in previous years, none of the Magic Circle chose to compete with the likes of Bingham (whose NQs are paid £36,000 more than peers at Allen & Overy) in their 2014 round of salary reviews.

Finally, there was no need for her to choose

Once upon a time US firms felt the need to shower candidates in gold to tempt them away from top UK brands, which were thought to offer juicier work, a more illustrious name on the CV and a better chance of making partner. It is arguable whether any of that holds true today, and plenty of lawyers rated their US firms highly in this year's RollOnFriday's Firm of the Year survey.

Though not for work/life balance. The perception that US firms expect their lawyers to live, breathe and eat more office than anyone else may still be justified, as demonstrated by the Cleary partner who advised associates how to 'superplease' his clients.