New York firm Davis Polk has announced massive new pay deals as it prepares to take on trainees for the first time.
The firm only started taking on UK-qualified lawyers in its London office in 2012 and will take on six trainees next year. Salaries are £50,000 for the first year, £55,000 for the second and a massive £100,000 on qualification. That's certainly not bad at all, although a handful of US firms such as Latham and Bingham match it, and the likes of Weil and Skadden aren't far behind with £95,000 for newly qualified lawyers. But it's a punchy move for a new office in a far-from-buoyant market, and well up on what the Magic Circle pays (currently around £39,000 for first seat trainees and £64,000 for NQs).
The downside to such munificence is, of course, the long hours that will inevitably come with it. RollOnFriday's man with a spreadsheet and calculator reckons that Davis Polk's NQs will have to bill around 2,000 hours a year for the salary to make economic sense to the firm. As one wag on the discussion board put it, "the number of circles after the £ sign should warn you about the damage a year of that will do to your personal , erm, circle".
Still, the firm can afford to be generous. It is one of the grandees of New York and was Slaughter and May's American best friend before 2012. The City office currently has 47 lawyers, and is aggressively recruiting. Thomson Reuters rated it top of all US firms in UK-announced M&A for the first half of this year.
Tip Off ROF
The firm only started taking on UK-qualified lawyers in its London office in 2012 and will take on six trainees next year. Salaries are £50,000 for the first year, £55,000 for the second and a massive £100,000 on qualification. That's certainly not bad at all, although a handful of US firms such as Latham and Bingham match it, and the likes of Weil and Skadden aren't far behind with £95,000 for newly qualified lawyers. But it's a punchy move for a new office in a far-from-buoyant market, and well up on what the Magic Circle pays (currently around £39,000 for first seat trainees and £64,000 for NQs).
The downside to such munificence is, of course, the long hours that will inevitably come with it. RollOnFriday's man with a spreadsheet and calculator reckons that Davis Polk's NQs will have to bill around 2,000 hours a year for the salary to make economic sense to the firm. As one wag on the discussion board put it, "the number of circles after the £ sign should warn you about the damage a year of that will do to your personal , erm, circle".
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Standard issue at Davis Polk |
Still, the firm can afford to be generous. It is one of the grandees of New York and was Slaughter and May's American best friend before 2012. The City office currently has 47 lawyers, and is aggressively recruiting. Thomson Reuters rated it top of all US firms in UK-announced M&A for the first half of this year.
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How long before Slaughters sees the writing on the wall and just merges with them to save David Polk the bother of building a rival top tier practice in London?
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