Exclusive: Transatlantic firm makes MoneyLaw move
International player Hogan Lovells has upped the pay packets of its newly qualified (NQ) solicitors by a whopping £12,000.
Until recently, those qualifying into the firm’s swish City of London headquarters enjoyed a not too shabby salary of £78,000. Now, the corporate outfit has bumped this figure by 15% and will be paying its newbie associates £90,000 a year, Legal Cheek can reveal. Hogan Lovells confirmed its junior lot will also be eligible for a discretionary bonus of up to 30% on top of the new and improved salary, giving a potential total pay package of up to £117,000. The rise — which is effective from 1 May 2019 — is more than seven times the rate of UK inflation which is currently at 2%.
News of today’s MoneyLaw move means Hogan Lovells has leapfrogged a host of City law firms — including two out of five of the magic circle — in the NQ pay league. As things stand, NQs at Herbert Smith Freehills earn £85,000, while their counterparts at elite duo Allen & Overy and Linklaters receive base rates of £83,000 respectively.
Confirmation of the pay uplift follows similar moves made by the magic circle in the last month which has been sparked by soaring US law firm London office NQ salaries. In May Freshfields raised the game when it announced it was increasing its NQ salary to £100,000. Clifford Chance and Slaughter and May followed Freshies’ lead in June and matched the six-figure sum. It’s worth noting that both CC’s and Slaughters’ NQ pay figure is a combination of basic salary and bonus. While it is unclear exactly how much CC pays out bonus aside, Slaughters has confirmed a baseline salary of £92,000. You can check out what all the top firms pay on Legal Cheek’s Firms Most List.
Hogan Lovells confirmed trainee pay has also increased by £1,000 for both first and second years. The firm’s London trainees will earn £46,000 in their first year, rising to £51,000 in their second year — representing a rise of 2% across the board. The firm offers around 50 training contracts each year.
Aside from the very enviable salaries, what’s it like working at the transatlantic giant? Hogan Lovells scored A*s for training, peer support and those all-important perks, and received commendations in all three categories at the Legal Cheek Awards earlier this year.
