Travers Smith now pays its junior associates more than Slaughter and May, while Herbert Smith Freehills and Macfarlanes have also increased their pay.

The Brexit vote has chilled plans for pay rises at some firms, but Travers Smith concluded its pay review before the referendum and, as a result, its lawyers have slipped in under the wire. They are now paid as much or more than their peers at Slaughter and May. Travers has matched the elite UK M&A specialist at NQ and 1PQE level, and pays very slightly more at the 2 and 3PQE level.

    Travers 3PQEs: £13 more net a month than Slaughters 3PQEs. Feel the burn.

Slaughters associates were already peeved at their comparatively small raises earlier this year which left them on significantly less than the rest of the Magic Circle. Being out-earned by contemporaries at notoriously high-paying US firms is one thing, but being overtaken first by the other Magic Circlers, and now Travers, is quite another. A Slaughters spokesman declined to comment when RollOnFriday asked if it was considering a corrective second raise this year.

Macfarlanes has also unveiled rises. NQs are now paid £71,000, with performance bands of £77-79,000 for 1PQEs, £80-88,000 for 2PQEs and £85-98,000 for 3PQEs. It's also given its lawyers an average bonus of 9.3% for the May 2015-April 2016 period, on top of a 5% bonus received by all staff. For the May 2016-April 2017 period, the firm is raising the lawyers' bonus limit to 25%. Which means that with the addtional 5% firmwide bonus, which Macfarlanes is maintaining, a prodigal 3PQE could earn £127,400.

Announcing its own pay rises, Herbert Smith Freehills focused on highlighting the performance-based pay available to high achievers. Including a bonus, its best of the best can now earn up to £90,000 at NQ level, £95,000 at 1PQE, £107,000 at 2PQE and £122,000 at 3PQE. However for those who don't toil labour 24/7, 365 days a year (with no bathroom breaks), the median figures are more relevant: and they are still generous. Listed in the pay table below, they demonstrate that Herbies' pay is now broadly on a par with the amounts available at A&O, Clifford Chance, Freshfields and Linklaters.

  NQ
1PQE 2PQE 3PQE
Herbert Smith Freehills*
(pre-raise)
£82,000
(£69,000)
£87,000
(£74,000)
£97,000
(£87,000)
£112,000
(£96,500)
Travers Smith £71,500
(£70,000)
£79,000
(75,500)
£91,100
(85,000)
£100,000
(86,000) 
Macfarlanes £71,000
(£70,000)
£78,000
(£75,000)
£84,000
(£81,500)
£91,500
(£90,000)
Allen & Overy
 £78,500  £92,000  £104,500  £115,000
Clifford Chance*
£85,000
 

£95,000
 

£109,500
 

£120,500
 

Freshfields  £85,000 
£94,375
£107,500 
£112,500
Linklaters* £81,000  £90,000  £100,000  £111,000
Slaughter and May
 £71,500
 £79,000
 £90,250
 £99,750 

*Figures include bonus, so allow for that when making comparisons

Speaking before the Brexit victory, Herbies Regional Managing Partner Ian Cox said the vote would "
have no immediate impact on the firm's operations other than any arising from general effects on the UK economy", adding that "our approach to reward this year has not changed as a result of the referendum".

See how the pay stacks up at dozens of firms on RollOnFriday's money table, and if your firm's figures have changed or aren't there, write in and let us know.
 
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Comments

Anonymous 08 July 16 08:20

Macs is going to have to revise all levels given that it's way more profitable than A&O, Travers and Herbies and yet is paying its beasted associates significantly less. LOL!

Anonymous 08 July 16 11:27

I don't really pay much attention to these figures normally as after tax I think the difference is often much of a muchness. Plus when you're at the start of your career there are more important things you should be focusing on than just your headline salary rate. However looking at Macfarlanes vs the magic circle (except Slaughters), at 3PQE that's actually quite a significant difference. It's about £1k a month net - which at c.30 years old would make a meaningful difference, for example, on the type of flat you could buy/rent.

Anonymous 08 July 16 11:37

Perhaps one of the reasons Mac's is more profitable is that it keeps its costs under a tight leash

Anonymous 19 July 16 11:23

Meanwhile the Eversheds management team wasted no time in instituting a Brexit pay freeze, including for all trainees going into their second year