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Davis Polk sets new £70k salary record for trainee solicitors in London

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By Legal Cheek on

26

Market topping pay 💷

Salaries
Davis Polk has set a new record for trainee solicitor salaries in London.

The US firm recruits around five UK trainees each year and now offers a salary of £65,000 in year one, rising to £70,000 in year two. These previous sat at £60,000 and £65,000, respectively.

These increases have set new records for entry-level pay in the City, with the improved second-year rate surpassing even the salaries offered to newly qualified (NQ) associates at some outfits in London.

 The 2025 Legal Cheek Firms Most List

The Legal Cheek Firms Most List 2025 shows fellow US firm Paul Hastings offers second-year trainees a salary of £68,000, while White & Case provides £67,000 for those in the latter half of their training contracts. Elsewhere, a host of other firms offer £65,000, including Akin, Gibson Dunn, Jones Day, Kirkland & Ellis and Morrison Foerster.

Upon qualification, Davis Polk’s new recruits see their salaries swell to an eye-watering £170,000. The highest NQ salaries currently available are offered by Gibson Dunn and Paul Weiss, both providing a very substantial £180,000.

26 Comments

2PQE Scotland

Can I get a loan mate?

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(33)(0)

Rupert; loaded and you know it 🇺🇸

Chicken feed, dear being.

Reply Report comment
(0)(6)

US trainee

Taking aside the fact that trainee time largely isn’t billed to clients and therefore isn’t adding to firm revenue, is £70k for working silly hours and basically being on call that unreasonable?

If you are 1/5 trainees, you will be doing heavy lifting on a deal or doing substantive work in disputes. I believe the salary bump is reasonable and other US firms with similar trainee cohorts should follow suit!

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(44)(10)

Anon

I don’t know where you got it that trainee time isn’t billed to clients. I have seen it regularly billed (albeit sometimes at discounted rates but even those are monstrous at US firms).

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(76)(1)

Future links trainee

So we getting a raise?

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(5)(9)

US trainee

I didn’t say ‘all’ trainee time, just that trainee time ‘largely’ isn’t billed. Obviously this depends on client/team/deal/etc.

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(7)(26)

US Lawyer

“If you are 1/5 trainees, you will be doing heavy lifting on a deal or doing substantive work in disputes.” lol.

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(33)(7)

City Litigator

I know, absolutely comical isn’t it. Delusions of grandeur…

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(12)(4)

US trainee

The flip side is that you’d only be doing a light lift in transactional work (which is laughable) and bundling (which is obviously required but not all there is for you to do). This does not align with my experience at a peer firm or that of anybody else’s.

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(7)(3)

US Lawyer

The trainee’s perception of doing heavy lifting during a transaction may be quite different to the associate/partner’s perception of what heavy lifting is.

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(20)(2)

Burnout Bib

Back to your playpen fresher, it’s almost naptime.

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(5)(2)

Hm

2 months into my training contract and I bill 6-7 hours of the day, with only 2 non billable hours. Same for most of my trainee cohort. Firms make a lot of money on trainees, which is why they don’t make ypu stay on as an NQ

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(2)(10)

Anonymous

Just because you bill time doesn’t mean the time gets billed.

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(35)(0)

Yoda LLP

Only just begun, the pay wars have

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(47)(3)

Anon

So a trainee at Davis Polk is now paid the same as / similar to some partners at places like Keoghs…

Reply Report comment
(31)(2)

Architect of Destiny

Solution: Don’t work at Keogh’s!

Reply Report comment
(59)(1)

Future links trainee

So we getting a raise?

Reply Report comment
(1)(11)

Numberwang

Meanwhile some US firms are still on 55 then 60 trainee salary, a staggering 18% gap with the top-of-market, and even slightly behind the MC.

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(11)(12)

Simon

Which firm is going to be the first to offer £200k NQ salary?

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(14)(2)

Possibly PW

I reckon Paul Weiss potentially. They are really going in in trying not attract candidates.

Reply Report comment
(11)(2)

It's a lottery

I feel like this needs to be repeated on every pay article but the London offices of US law firms do not set their salaries. The salaries are set on dollar terms in the US and then, at best, they have some input into how this converted to GBP.

All of the top US firms pay the exact same amount (to a dollar) in US base salaries so the variation in London is only based on how the exchange rate is set. PW will not be paying more than other US law firms in London to attract talent. If they do pay more, it is because they have set their exchange rate differently.

LegalCheek’s NQ salaries are misleading in this respect. If you have a floating exchange rate, the base salary changes from month to month so might not be as high or as low as LegalCheek states. Some firms set fixed exchange rates (typically lower than the actual exchange rate) but these fixed exchange rates can potentially be in the money and mean you earn more than someone on a floating exchange rate.

On a side note, if PW are really going in on trying to attract candidates, they should start with their trainee pay (which London does control) seeing as it’s 10k behind DP.

Reply Report comment
(18)(2)

Non-Equity Partner, Price Prior LLP

Price Prior LLP already does

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(14)(0)

Finance NQ

Paul, Weiss. They have a statement to make. But only in 2 years time. They move when NY does.

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(2)(1)

Typo

Typo to *attract candidates

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(1)(0)

C

A David Polk trainee (who might be two or three years) would be paid the same as an associate in MH or legal counsel roles

Reply Report comment
(2)(1)

Grand Fateful

It should be Kirkland or PW

Reply Report comment
(1)(0)

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