Rises for trainees too
International law firms Dentons and Addleshaw Goddard have increased the salaries of their junior lawyers.
Up first, Dentons. The global super-giant confirmed that its London newly qualified (NQ) lawyers will now start on a salary of £75,000, up 7% from £70,000. This puts them on the same cash levels as their peers at DLA Piper, Macfarlanes, Mayer Brown, Norton Rose Fulbright and Reed Smith.
Dentons has also increased trainee pay. Up from £40,000, London rookies now earn a salary of £42,000, an increase of £2,000 (5%), while second year remuneration now sits at £46,000 — a boost of £2,000 or 4%.
There are a series of modest increases outside of London too. NQs at Dentons’ Milton Keynes and Watford offices now earn £46,000, up 4% from £44,000. First year trainees now start on £30,000, an increase of £2,800 (10%), and second years earn £32,500, a rise of £2,750 (9%).
Sticking with Dentons, the largest law firm in the world by lawyer headcount has also upped its training contract offering.
Legal Cheek can reveal that the number of trainee spots up for grabs in the UK has risen from 30 to 40. This rise follows the 2017 summer merger with Scottish four-office outfit Maclay Murray & Spens. Completed last year, the tie-up saw Dentons gain new offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow. NQs north of the border start lawyer life on £40,000, while trainees earn £24,000 in their first year and £26,000 in their second year.
Returning to matters of money, Addleshaw Goddard has implemented a fresh round of rises of its own.
In a somewhat unusual move, the corporate player has bumped London NQ pay for the second time this year — fresh faced associates now earn £70,000, which equates to an increase of £5,000 or 7%. Legal Cheek’s Firms Most List shows that this places them on an equal pay footing with NQs at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, CMS, Pinsent Masons and Watson Farley & Williams.
London trainee salaries have also risen. Those in the first year of their training contract now earn £39,500, up from £38,000, while those a year ahead now receive £42,500, up from £41,000. This represents a 4% rise across the board.
Away from the City, Addleshaw Goddard has increased the pay packets of its Leeds and Manchester NQs too. These are up by £1,500 or 4% to £43,000. Trainee pay in the regions now sits at £27,000, rising to £29,000 in year two, while Scottish NQs earn a salary of £38,000.