Trainees also handed extra cash
Stephenson Harwood has upped pay for its trainees and newly qualified (NQ) solicitors.
The ten-office-firm, which takes on roughly 20 trainees each year, has bumped London NQ pay packets to £75,000, up 3% from £73,000. Meanwhile, rookies in year one of their training contracts now earn £43,000, up 5% from £41,000, while those a year ahead now receive £47,000, an uplift of 4% from £45,000.
Legal Cheek’s Firms Most List shows that today’s modest money move puts the City outfit’s NQs on the same levels of cash as their counterparts at Dentons, Reed Smith and Simmons & Simmons (£75,000), and a full £2,000 over and above their equals at Squire Patton Boggs (£73,000).
As for life at the firm, Stephenson Harwood notched up As for quality of work, perks and office in our Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey, as well as Bs for training, peer support, partner approachability, work/life balance and social life.
Confirmation of the uplifts comes just 48 hours after Linklaters finally followed its magic circle rivals in upping NQ pay to £100,000 — a six-figure-sum which includes a discretionary performance bonus.