Trainees also handed increases
Slaughter and May has upped the salaries of its newly qualified (NQ) solicitors, after opting to cut pay last summer in response to the pandemic. But today’s fresh uplifts fall short of the firm’s pre-COVID pay level.
The magic circle player announced NQ pay will now total £90,500, up £3,500 (or 4%) from £87,000. Last spring, Legal Cheek reported that Slaughters had reduced the base rate of NQs, from £92,000 to £87,000, to curb the financial impact of the pandemic.
The firm also confirmed that from March, trainees will earn a salary of £47,000 in year one, rising to £52,500 in year two. Rookie pay currently sits at £45,000 and £51,000 respectively.
The salary uplifts come just months after the Bunhill Row player upped bonuses for associates — 2% higher than the previous year — in recognition of their efforts during the pandemic. It also reinstated the partner distributions it suspended in April.