The firm, which offers around 12 training contracts annually, added £3,000 to the pay packets of its junior lawyers to boost remuneration into the coveted six-figure domain. Seven US-based firms are now offering salaries above the £100,000 mark for their newly qualified lawyers. Parked squarely atop the '100 Club' league-table is Sullivan & Cromwell, which lifted NQ salaries to a whopping £101.5k last year. A notch down is California-headquartered Latham & Watkins, which hands £101,000 to its juniors. Other card-holding members include Washington DC-based Akin Gump, Texan firm Vinson & Elkins and New York firm Davis Polk and Weil Gotshal & Manges.

Magic Circle trailing 

At present, London's 100 Club is an all-American affair. The top paying Magic Circle firm, Allen & Overy, still lags behind the silver-platter salaries on offer from the US crème de la crème by a massive £21,500, with an NQ rate of £78.5k per year. Source: Legal Cheek