Travers Smith and Mishcon de Reya have raised pay for their newly qualified lawyers, signalling the continued importance of junior lawyers in the battle for talent.
Travers has upped its base NQ salary to £130k, while Mishcon will hand out £100k from September.
Travers’ rise from £120k came into effect at the start this month and puts it on a par with DLA Piper, according to figures published by Legal Cheek. The firm said its NQs could earn up to £20k as an additional bonus during the financial year, and that its trainee salaries had also increased, to £55k for year one and £60k for year two.
“We highly value the contribution of our associates and are pleased to be able to make this additional investment at all levels to support them as they grow in their careers with us,” Travers said in a statement.
Meanwhile Mishcon’s boost to £100k represents a 5% year-on-year increase for its NQs and sees it push past Shoosmiths’ £97k to match Dentons and HFW. It coincides with the firm upping trainee pay to £50k for first years and £55k for second years.
Vanessa Dewhurst, partner and chief people officer at Mishcon, said: “Each year we review NQ and trainee salaries to ensure competitive rates for our newly qualified and trainee lawyers. As part of this review, we have conducted a benchmarking exercise to ensure that our salaries remain attractive, fair and sustainable.
“Our people are our greatest asset and we have considered extensively how to ensure we best reward all of our people. We do this through a mix of pay, bonuses and a generous range of benefits as well as the opportunity to work with some of the most interesting clients on some of the most complex legal matters. This ensures that Mishcon de Reya is an attractive destination for the brightest talent and rewards our people for the exceptional contribution they make to our firm.”
Travers’ and Mishcon’s pay rises continue a junior salary war that has seen repeated waves of increases on both sides of the Atlantic. Since mid-May, HSF Kramer has announced an increase to £145k and Hogan Lovells and Ashurst to £140k, while DLA Piper has boosted pay to £130k, CMS to £120k and Eversheds Sutherland to £110k.
Pinsent Masons and Bird & Bird have also hiked their pay past £100k, to £105k and £102k respectively, as six-figure salaries for London NQs increasingly become the norm at top firms.
UK firms, however, remain nowhere near the top of the market in London, where US firms dominate.
In February, Willkie Farr & Gallagher bumped NQ salaries 5% to £170k, in the process joining the elite group of around 20 US firms that have raised pay for their London NQs to £170k or more.
Most of these firms pay between £170k and £175k, although Sullivan & Cromwell hands out £177k, and a quartet of firms – Davis Polk, Gibson Dunn, Paul Weiss and Quinn Emanuel – sit at the top of the market with an eye-watering £180k starting salary for associates.
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