£65k in the regions
Ohio-headquartered Squire Patton Boggs has revealed it will increase the salaries of its newly qualified (NQ) solicitors in London to £100,000.
The boost of £5,000 equates to an extra 5% for its newbie associates.
Effective from January 2023, the Legal Cheek Firms Most List shows the move will eventually put its London NQs on the same cash as their equivalents at Macfarlanes, Simmons & Simmons and Travers Smith.
Meanwhile, NQs in the firm’s regional offices — Birmingham, Leeds, and Manchester — will also see their salaries rise a hefty 18% from £55,000 to £65,000.
In February, the international outfit increased pay to £95,000 and £55,000 for London and regional NQs, respectively. This followed uplifts to trainee salaries across its UK offices the month before. This increase put London trainees on £47,000 in their first year and £50,000 in their second year, while their peers in the regions earn £30,000 and £33,000.
Squires has also confirmed 21 of its 23 trainees received permanent roles at the firm, giving the firm an annual retention score of 91%. They have qualified into a range of practice areas including corporate, financial services, intellectual property & technology, international dispute resolution, litigation, competition, data privacy & cybersecurity, environmental safety & health, real estate, labour & employment, and tax.
Giles Chesher, the firm’s training principal commented:
“We are committed to providing competitive pay and distinguishing ourselves with a culture that places the highest value on people’s development and well-being. This is reflected by our ability to retain almost all of our trainees, with everyone who applied receiving a permanent role at the firm.”