According to reports in The Lawyer, RPC has done away with performance-based bonuses for associates, swapping them instead for meatier pay packets that ‘reflect anticipated previous bonus arrangements.’ In practice, this looks like an average base salary increase of 7 per cent. At present, junior lawyers at RPC move through four different career levels – trainee, associate level one, associate level two, and senior associate – and are paid according to a fully merit-based remuneration system. This means that within any given ‘rung’ of the RPC career ladder, salaries can vary considerably. The latest change, therefore, is more a question of timing and the level of variation, rather than criteria. ‘The overall level of remuneration is performance related but because it’s now focused on salary it’s anticipatory rather than prospective,’ said RPC director of brand and talent Clint Evans.