Joins top London NQ payers Milbank on £177,500
Akin Gump has increased the salaries of its London lawyers across the board by a minimum of $10,000 (just under £8k).
A spokesperson for the firm has confirmed that it will be matching the raise set by Cravath Swaine & Moore last week, which includes a bump of $10,000 for NQs through to 3PQE. The extra dosh doesn’t stop there, however, with those 4PQE receiving an increase of $15,000, and 5-7PQE securing a $20,000 uplift.
This will leave the London office’s newly qualified (NQ) associates on an eyewatering $225,000 a year, the joint highest in the city alongside competitor Milbank. Although the firm’s conversion rate is undisclosed, today, that sum would balance out at about £177,500.
Last year, Akin used an exchange rate as high as £1 = US$1.2005, before setting a cap on salary rates, the upper limit being £1 = $1.2, and the lower limit £1 = $1.5. The rate today is $1.26568.
The Legal Cheek Firms Most List shows that Akin takes on eight trainees a year, with a typical day keeping recruits in the office until after 8pm.