Magic circle law firm increases newly qualified solicitor pay
updated on 08 May 2024
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Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP has announced that its newly qualified (NQ) solicitor pay will rise to £150,000, as the battle for legal talent in London continues.
The base pay increase makes Freshfields’ NQ solicitor pay the highest out of the rest of the magic circle. However, it falls below US firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher UK LLP, which pays its NQs £180,000 per year.
On top of the NQ pay increase, Freshfields’ first-year trainee salary will increase from £50,000 to £56,000, with the firm’s second-year trainee salary increasing from £55,000 to £61,000.
The pay increases come after reports that the firm turned over £1.8 billion in revenue during the previous financial year. Mark Sansom, the firm’s London managing partner, said the decision to increase pay “follows a year of strong growth for the London business” and explained that it reflects the “confidence in the firm’s continued market leadership” across all its London practices.
This time last year, magic circle firms increased NQ pay to £125,000 to match the figure at Freshfields, so it’ll be interesting to see whether the firm’s magic circle counterparts follow suit this time around too. Clifford Chance is set to review pay packages this summer, while Slaughter and May’s review is due to take place in November.
Chris Clark, a director at London-based recruiter Definitum Search, said: “Freshfields has thrown down the gauntlet on junior pay once again in a sign that the pay wars in the City may be ramping up.”
It follows news that the mega merger between Allen & Overy LLP and Shearman & Sterling was completed last week – the merged firm is now known as A&O Shearman.
