£80k and £85k
Clyde & Co and Fieldfisher have increased the salaries of their newly qualified (NQ) solicitors in London to £80,000 and £85,000 respectively.
Clydes’ new rate comes into effect this month and marks a 14% rise on the £70,000 previously awarded to solicitors upon qualification. It also means that the firm’s NQs now earn the same amount of money as their peers over at Dentons and Osborne Clarke.
Trainee pay at Clyde & Co has been held for now pending a review in the summer, a firm spokesperson said. Clyde & Co trainees earn £40,000 in their first year, rising to £42,000 in their second year. The firm offers around 45 training contracts each year.
Clyde & Co has also restructured its bonus schemes in the UK. As part of the changes to its chargeable hours bonus scheme, the firm’s solicitors will see an increase in the payment levels to a maximum of 25% for those achieving the highest chargeable hours threshold. In addition, staff will receive a referral bonus for new work introduced to the firm.
Rob Hill, chair of Clyde & Co’s UK board, said: “At Clyde & Co we are focused on investing in our people in all respects so that they can enjoy long, fulfilling and varied careers with us while providing clients with the market leading levels of service and legal advice they expect from a firm of our standing. This means providing our lawyers with the best training, an environment in which they can grow and give the best of themselves, and the chance to work with colleagues around the world on varied, interesting, and demanding client instructions.”
He added:
“As part of our focus on our people we regularly review our salary levels and bonus schemes, which play an important role in rewarding our people’s contributions to the firm’s success and recognising outperformance.”
Meanwhile, Fieldfisher confirmed base rates for NQs will move from £77,000 to £85,000 in London and £45,000 to £50,000 in the regions. The rises of 10% and 11% take effect from next month.
A spokesperson for the firm said: “While salaries are important to attract the best talent, pay isn’t everything. We pride ourselves on the strength of our Fieldfisher community, where we promote inclusiveness and diversity of all skills, strengths and perspectives, encourage innovation and endorse collegiality.”
They added:
“We believe in giving our junior lawyers maximum exposure to a variety of experiences and opportunities to work with incredible people, both at our firm and on secondments. This helps them develop into, and be rewarded for being, the best lawyers in their field.”
Clydes and Fieldfisher join a growing list of law firms raising the salaries of their junior lawyers in the war to attract and retain talent. Check out what all the top law firms pay in our 2022 Firms Most List.
