City law firms raise NQ salaries amid pay war

Reading time: one minute

Macfarlanes LLP, HFW and Bird & Bird become the latest City law firms to increase the salaries of their newly qualified (NQ) solicitors as the so-called ‘NQ pay war’ continues.

Macfarlanes has increased NQ salaries by £25,000 to £140,000 –  £10,000 short from matching the pay of magic circle law firms A&O Shearman, Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and Linklaters LLP, all of which recently raised NQ salaries to £150,000.

On top of this, Macfarlanes has also upped the pay for its first and second-year trainees to £56,000 and £61,000, respectively, while reporting an 84% retention rate after offering NQ solicitor positions to 27 out 32 of its trainees. All 27 NQs will join the firm on permanent contracts.

Early legal careers partner at Macfarlanes, Jat Bains, expressed excitement about welcoming the new qualifiers and said: “We are proud to invest in our trainees so that their careers can thrive at Macfarlanes.”

HFW’s NQ solicitors have seen pay increase to £100,000, while Bird & Bird increased NQ pay to £98,000. Other firms to have recently increased NQ salaries include RPC and Hogan Lovells.