Up 7%
The London office of White & Case has increased the salaries of its most junior lawyers.
The firm has upped pay for newly qualified (NQ) associates by 7%, from £140,000 to £150,000. It has also bumped trainee pay to £56,000 in year one (previously £52,000) and £61,000 in year two (previously £57,000).
The Legal Cheek Firms Most List 2024 shows White & Case offers around 50 training contracts each year.
Those further up the ladder have also seen their salaries increase. Associates with one year’s post qualification experience (PQE) will move from £147,500 to £158,500, while those at 2PQE now earn £171,000, up from £160,000.
A spokesperson for White & Case told Legal Cheek:
“White & Case is established as an elite global firm offering highly attractive careers to ambitious and talented lawyers. Our teams in London advise leading global clients on their most important, complex, cross-border deals and disputes, and our people enjoy promotion opportunities and the benefits of the wide range of strong practices we have built in the City. Following discussions with partners, we are increasing legal salaries in London, including for trainees. The salary increases, effective from 1 January 2024, are another demonstration of our position as a leading law firm globally and in the City.”
Elsewhere, Sidley has moved rates for newly qualified (NQ) associates from £159,500 to £166,500. The firm recruits around 15 trainees each year on a starting salary of £55,000, which rises to £60,000 in year two.
A number of US headquartered outfits have upped pay in recent weeks.
Juniors at Paul Hastings will now earn a hefty £173,000 thanks to an adjustment to its $ to £ exchange rate, while Willkie Farr increased to £165,000 and Weil Gotshal move to £170,000. Other firms to bump salaries in recent weeks include Davis Polk and Cleary Gottlieb, jumping to £170,000 and £164,500, respectively.