Rises in regions too
DLA Piper has raised the salaries of its junior lawyers in London and the regions.
The international firm confirmed to Legal Cheek newly qualified (NQ) solicitors in the London office will be £12k better off come September, with base pay rising from £76,000 to £88,000. Trainees in London will be handed rises of £1k so they’ll earn £46,000 in their first year and £51,000 in their second year from September.
The sizeable pay rise for London NQs means DLA has leapfrogged several major outfits on our Firms Most List, including CMS and Eversheds which both recently upped new associate pay to £82,000. They now also earn the same level of pay as NQs over at Simmons & Simmons.
DLA Piper has also bumped pay for those based in its regional offices. NQs at these offices will see their pay increase from £44,000 to £48,000, while trainees will receive an extra £2k, bringing their salaries to £31,000 in year one and £33,000 in year two.
Already we have seen a number of law firms raise their junior lawyer salary game. Less than 24 hours ago, Linklaters increased NQ base pay to £100k, matching moves made by magic circle rivals Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy in recent weeks. Other UK-headquartered law firms are expected to follow with similar announcements.
