Rises for rookies too
US law firm Sidley Austin has raised the salaries of its newly qualified associates in London from an already impressive £166,500 to £175,000.
The rise will take effect on 1 July and equates to an extra £8,500 or 5%.
The firm’s trainees have also received pay increases, with first-year salaries rising from £55,000 to £60,000 and second-year salaries from £60,000 to £65,000.
The Legal Cheek Firms Most List 2024 shows that Sidley’s NQs now earn the same salaries as their counterparts at Goodwin Procter and are understood to be ahead of those at firms like Vinson & Elkins and Kirkland & Ellis.
This latest increase follows a wave of salary raises among Magic Circle firms, elevating A&O Shearman, Clifford Chance, Freshfields, and Linklaters to an NQ figure of £150,000. Trainees have also seen a boost, with their first-year pay rising to £56,000 and second-year to £61,000.
Earlier this week, Legal Cheek reported that Hogan Lovells had increased NQ salaries to £135,000 in London, while those in the Birmingham office will now earn £85,000.