Extra £5k
Willkie Farr & Gallagher has nudged newly qualified (NQ) solicitor pay to £150,000, Legal Cheek can reveal.
The firm previously awarded NQ lawyers in the London office an annual salary of £145,000, representing an increase of just over 3%.
Willkie’s new solicitors now earn more than their peers at fellow US law firms Dechert, Shearman & Sterling and Sullivan & Cromwell, all of who pay their NQs £145,000, as well as Debevoise & Plimpton (£145,800) and Ropes & Gray (£147,000), our 2023 Firms Most List shows.
US law firms in London are inching ever closer to the £200,000 NQ pay mark — the highest-paying firm is currently Akin, offering NQs £179,000 upon qualification.
Trainees at the firm earn £55,000 in year one, rising to £60,000 in year two.
Willkie offers six training contracts a year and scored As and A*s across the board in our latest Trainee & Junior Lawyer Survey, including A*s for training, quality of work and its ‘work from home’ strategy.