Exclusive: Newly-merged mega firm also throws extra cash at NQs north and south of the border
CMS has boosted trainee pay packets at its Bristol office by £5,000 as part of a series of salary rises across the firm, Legal Cheek can exclusively reveal.
Young lawyers in the first year of their training contract will now walk away with £37,000, up from £32,000 (16%) while those a year ahead will take home £39,000, up from £34,000 (15%). Wedge for the firm’s Bristol-based newly-qualified (NQ) lawyers is up from £47,800 to £49,000, equating to a more modest rise of 3%.
CMS has also upped pay north of the border. The firm’s first year trainees in Scotland (Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen) will now earn £24,000, up from £22,500 (7%), while NQs will trouser £39,000, a rise of £1,000 or 3%.
The global outfit — a product of a recent three-way merger between CMS Cameron McKenna, Nabarro and Olswang — has confirmed that the salaries at its London, Sheffield and Manchester offices remain unchanged.
Legal Cheek’s Most List shows that trainees at CMS’s London headquarters will continue to earn £40,000 in year one, rising to £45,000 in year two. Upon qualification, a CMS associate will receive £67,500, while their Sheffield and Manchester counterparts will pocket £40,000 respectively.
Legal Cheek understands that the pay boost in Bristol reflects the particularly hard-working nature of CMS’s rookies in the South West city, which is seen as more London-style in its ethos than other regional centres. Trainees and junior lawyers at rival firms in Bristol report a similar experience, and note that the cost of living has risen as house prices have spiralled in the area.
For all the latest commercial awareness info, and advance notification of Legal Cheek’s careers events, sign up to the Legal Cheek Hub.