£110,000 and £115,000 — plus rises for some trainees too
Travers Smith and Ashurst have become the latest City law firms to increase the salaries of their newly-qualified (NQ) solicitors.
NQ pay at Travers Smith has risen from £105,000 to £110,000, a £5,000 or 5% increase. Whilst NQ pay at Ashurst has risen marginally higher from £105,000 to £115,000, a £10,000 or 10% increase.
A spokesperson for Ashurst said: “We carefully monitor and review our pay structures to attract and retain talent and remain competitive. We are pleased to confirm our basic pay for newly qualified lawyers in London will be at least £115,000, with effect from 1 November 2023.”
Trainee pay at Ashurst is also up, with rookie rates in year one and two now sitting at £52,000 and £57,000, respectively. These previously sat at £50,000 and £55,000.
The Legal Cheek Firms Most List 2023 shows the rises put NQ pay at Ashurst in-line with Magic and Silver Circle competitors Slaughter and May and Macfarlanes (£115,000), while Travers Smith leapfrogs the likes of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, Simmons & Simmons and Norton Rose Fulbright (£105,000).
Travers also confirmed that NQs could earn as much as £130,000 with bonuses.
The rising rates come some 18 months after both Travers Smith and Ashurst broke the £100,000 threshold in January 2022, increasing pay to £100,000 and £105,000 respectively.
Last week Legal Cheek reported that Taylor Wessing had joined the summer pay war, upping NQ rates by 5% to £100,000.
