Shearman & Sterling is raising associate salaries, putting newly-qualified solicitors on triple figures for the first time.

The US firm has increased basic pay for NQs by 10.5%, taking them from from £95,000 to £105,000. The lowest salary for solicitors in the junior associate band is rising 9.5% to £138,000 from £126,000, while the lower limit for the senior associate salary band will rise 5.6% to £165,000.

It's not quite up there with the highest-paying US firms, which in the States last year all followed Cravath Swaine & Moore's huge rises and put NQs on $180k. In a move that sent shockwaves through the London legal market, a handful of those firms subsequently decided to pay equivalent salaries to their lawyers in London. And then pegged them to the dollar to address pesky plunging sterling exchange rates, meaning that Kirkland & Ellis and Akin Gump City NQs are on around £125k. A little further down, Weil NQs are paid £115k.

But £105k for a fifth seat trainee is still a huge sum. They are now paid £20k more than NQs at Freshfields and Clifford Chance, £26.5k more than those at Allen & Overy and, for some real context, £47k more than City NQs at Trowers & Hamlins.  


  Finally! NQ take home pay was £67,680, which meant if she lived in the office on seminar sarnies, the artefact could at last be hers. 

Alluding to the glittery new rate and the increasing revenues flowing from London (up 14% from $144.6m in 2015 to $169.7 million), Shearman London managing partner Nick Buckworth said the firm was "committed to attracting and retaining the best of the brightest associates". He said it was also "an acknowledgment of the hard work and commitment" of the current crop.

Now they can afford as much real fur as they want.
Tip Off ROF

Comments

Anonymous 05 May 17 05:45

This article ignores bonuses. The US firm salaries ignore bonuses, while some of the magic circle salaries include them. So US firms are paying far more than £20k extra.

Anonymous 05 May 17 14:12

+ 1 to the above comment, ROF is deliberately dishonest in reporting the MC figures, they well know they include bonuses and there is 30k plus minimun difference between Shearman and the MC.

Anonymous 05 May 17 15:07

@anons - Guys... take an f'ing reality check will you. Who really gives a s%*t whether its 20k or 30k - its WAYYY too much for kids barely out of diapers. Why aren't clients chiming in on this given they are the ones who have to pay these obscene amounts of money by way of fees.

Anonymous 05 May 17 15:40

@14:07 That's ultimately determined by the market, no? People get paid millions to chase a ball around a park or sing songs, so what's ridiculous is relative. On the other hand, blatant misinformation needs to be called out.

Anonymous 05 May 17 15:56

So according to this NQs at S&S are being paid 5K more per year than a 10 year qualified senior associate at the new CMS mega firm!

Roll On Friday 05 May 17 17:09

Yes, you can get £100k+ as a NQ. But in return for this you will have to sell your soul.

Don't expect to see your friends, family or other half. Weekends will become a thing of the past. You will put on weight from constantly eating junk at your desk and the post-work drinks which you use to de-stress more than anything else.

In a few years time, when it has become apparent you are not on for partner, you will be ringing round chinnies for something paying £80k in return for reasonable working hours.

Anonymous 05 May 17 18:00

Just to chime in on the bonus chat...

The bonuses at firms which match the Cravath scale are also significantly better than MC rates. Less so at the NQ level (where it's $15,000), but a 2PQE who hits their bonus will pocket $50,000 (and a 4 PQE will take $80,000).

Those amounts are also generally paid at the prevailing exchange rate.

Ignoring these sorts of figures (while including the smaller MC bonuses in the MC figures) paints a fairly misleading picture.

Anonymous 05 May 17 18:55

Jonas - PP isn't for everyone, but that is an unreasonably pessimistic view. Most people self-select themselves out of the game by 2-3 PQE and, usually, into cushy and well paid in-house roles (and by which time, if they've been at all wise, they've saved themselves a nice nest egg).

Those who elect to hang around are generally informed of their prospects around 6 PQE. Those who have no partnership prospects then can lateral to another firm to give it another shot, or stick around and be appointed as counsel. Earning £200k+ a year without taking on any management responsibilities is hardly one of the tragedies of the western world...

Anonymous 06 May 17 18:56

How can the MC firms call themselves the magic circle when they refuse to pay commensurate rates?