Allen & Overy has increased pay for its newly-qualified solicitors to £81,000.
It represents a £2,500 rise for lawyers qualifying this September. Trainees will receive a £2,000 rise, with first years now on £44k and second years on £49k.
In straight salary terms, A&O's NQ pay now surpasses the £78,000 paid by Slaughter and May and the £78,500 paid by Linklaters. However a spokeswoman for A&O declined to tell RollOnFriday what, if any, bonus was available to new solicitors.
That contrasts with the rest of the Magic Circle. At Linklaters, said a spokeswoman, bonuses enable NQs to earn around £90,000. Last year all Slaughter and May NQs received a 9% bonus, taking their pay to £85k.
A bonus is also available at Clifford Chance, although it is very cagey and does not publish either the bonus or salary component. Instead it discloses a combined figure, of £87,300. On its website CC lists that amount as the total compensation paid to its NQs, so unless it's engaging in false advertising it appears it must pay the "binary bonus" to every NQ.*
Freshfields takes a different approach. It ditched NQ bonuses last year on the basis that it was not fair to deny performance rewards to solicitors who were at a stage in their careers where they are largely dependent on partners for their work load, and could be burdened with non-chargeable tasks. It pumped up the salary instead. All NQs are paid the same, £85,000, more than any other MC firm which deigns to reveal its salary. As such, a Freshfields spokesman confirmed to RollOnFriday that it has no plans to increase it further this year.
*Update: after being asked by RollOnFriday about this, CC added an asterisk to that particular statement in its Salary and benefits section.
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It represents a £2,500 rise for lawyers qualifying this September. Trainees will receive a £2,000 rise, with first years now on £44k and second years on £49k.
In straight salary terms, A&O's NQ pay now surpasses the £78,000 paid by Slaughter and May and the £78,500 paid by Linklaters. However a spokeswoman for A&O declined to tell RollOnFriday what, if any, bonus was available to new solicitors.
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A&O keeps its cards close, yesterday. |
That contrasts with the rest of the Magic Circle. At Linklaters, said a spokeswoman, bonuses enable NQs to earn around £90,000. Last year all Slaughter and May NQs received a 9% bonus, taking their pay to £85k.
A bonus is also available at Clifford Chance, although it is very cagey and does not publish either the bonus or salary component. Instead it discloses a combined figure, of £87,300. On its website CC lists that amount as the total compensation paid to its NQs, so unless it's engaging in false advertising it appears it must pay the "binary bonus" to every NQ.*
| Magic Circle NQ pay | ||||
| Salary | Bonus | Total | ||
| Allen & Overy | £81k | £? | £81k. Maybe more, maybe not | |
| Clifford Chance | £? | £? | £87.3k | |
| Freshfields | £85k | N/A | £85k guaranteed for all | |
| Linklaters | £78.5k | up to approx. £12.5k | Up to approx. £90k | |
| Slaughter and May | £78k | approx. £7k for all | Approx. £85k for all | |
Freshfields takes a different approach. It ditched NQ bonuses last year on the basis that it was not fair to deny performance rewards to solicitors who were at a stage in their careers where they are largely dependent on partners for their work load, and could be burdened with non-chargeable tasks. It pumped up the salary instead. All NQs are paid the same, £85,000, more than any other MC firm which deigns to reveal its salary. As such, a Freshfields spokesman confirmed to RollOnFriday that it has no plans to increase it further this year.
*Update: after being asked by RollOnFriday about this, CC added an asterisk to that particular statement in its Salary and benefits section.
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If you think that's what a trainee at an MC firm does, then its no wonder you're at a regional firm.
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Obviously there's some deluded children at every firm that think they are "doing a front page FT deal" - do try to move on from this approach though. Otherwise you aren't going to find you have too many clients if you keep this attitude up later in your career.
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