8% rise
Skadden is the latest major US law firm to boost the already hefty salaries of its junior lawyers in London.
The New York-headquartered outfit’s newly qualified (NQ) lawyers will now receive a pay packet of £144,000 — a rise of 8% from £133,000.
The new and improved rate sees Skadden’s UK lot leapfrog their opposite numbers at the likes of Davis Polk (£135k), Shearman & Sterling (£135k), and close in on US competitors such as Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins (both around £145k).
The Legal Cheek Firms Most List shows the firm recruits just 12 trainees each year on a starting salary of £50,000. Pay jumps to £55,000 in year two, before rocking to the new £144k rate upon qualification.
A host of US firms have upped their cash offerings in recent months as they look to put further distance between themselves and their UK rivals on the pay league ladder.