Legal Cheek rounds up the key NQ pay movers outside the capital
While the City pay war continues to grab headlines, pay in regional offices is also steadily climbing with some rookies now earning base pay of £68,000.
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) was first to announce that its Manchester juniors would receive a pay rise early this year, with pay for newly qualified (NQ) solicitors moving to £51,000.
But last month when DLA Piper raised salaries for NQs in the City, it also raised rates in the regions to £65,000, in turn putting pressure on other firms to make similar moves. A week later Squire Patton Boggs and Eversheds Sutherland responded by putting its NQs on £55,000 and £62,0000, respectively.
In Simmons & Simmons‘ Bristol branch, meanwhile, juniors now start lawyer life on a base rate of £68,000 following a 22% uplift late last year.
Though regional pay for juniors does not reach the dizzy six-figure heights of those in the City, your cash does tend to go further. It is estimated that the average person’s living costs in Leeds sits at £1,500 per month, while the average property price comes in at little under £240,000. In London, meanwhile, average living costs are said to be almost double at £2,900 while a house will set you back, again on average, a whopping £682,000.
Following all the recent regional pay rises, see below for how the firms compare.
| Firm | Trainee pay (Year 1) | Trainee pay (Year 2) | NQ base rate |
| BCLP | Manchester: £30,000 | Manchester: £35,000 | Manchester: £51,000 |
| CMS | Bristol: £41,500; Manchester and Sheffield: £30,000; Edinburgh and Glasgow: £26,775 | Bristol: £42,525; Manchester and Sheffield: £33,075; Edinburgh and Glasgow: £29,925 | Bristol: £61,000; Manchester and Sheffield: £51,750; Edinburgh and Glasgow: £51,750 |
| DLA Piper | All regional offices: £30,000 | All regional offices: £33,000 | All regional offices: £65,000 |
| Eversheds Sutherland | All regional offices: £28,500 | All regional offices: £31,000 | All regional offices: £62,000 |
| Gowling WLG | Birmingham: £29,000 | Birmingham: £32,000 | Birmingham: £52,000 |
| Simmons & Simmons | Bristol: £40,500 | Bristol: £42,500 | Bristol: £68,000 |
| Squire Patton Boggs | All regional offices: £30,000 | All regional offices: £33,000 | All regional offices: £55,000 |
| Trowers & Hamlins | All regional offices: £30,000 | All regional offices: £32,000 | All regional offices: £50,000 |