Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld will now be paying associates in the United Kingdom a salary equivalent to that enjoyed by their US colleagues as determined by the exchange rate between the dollar and the pound. As a result, current London-based NQ lawyers will see their salaries lifted to $180,000, which at the current rate translates roughly to £150,000 per year.
Exchange rate volatility
The decision comes in response to recent turbulence in the valuation of the British pound as global markets struggle with lingering uncertainty around Brexit. News of the UK Government’s defeat in the High Court yesterday prompted a 1 per cent surge in the pound against the US dollar to a daily high of $1.248, its strongest position in four weeks.
Striving for pay parity
Akin Gump London senior partner James Roome commented: ‘As a matter of policy, we aim to pay people the same in London as if they were in New York and in order to achieve that in today’s market conditions, we have decided to pay them by reference to prevailing exchange.’ The new £150,000 annual package for Akin Gump’s London-based juniors overshadows salaries at top-tier local firms like Slaughter and May and Clifford Chance, where NQ lawyers take home pre-bonus pay of £71,500 and £85,000 per year respectively.
Sources: Legal Business; Wall Street Journal; The Lawyer
Email your news and story ideas to: [email protected]
