More experienced associates also cash in
Shearman & Sterling has upped the pay packets of its newly qualified (NQ) London lawyers to an eye-watering £105,000.
With NQs until today earning £95,000, the pay boost equates to a sizeable rise of £10,000 or 10.5%. Legal Cheek’s 2016/17 Most List shows that on the NQ salary league table, Shearman has now leapfrogged Sullivan and Cromwell (£101,500) and distanced itself further from Dechert and White & Case (£90,000). Sitting just above Shearman is Davis Polk, which pays its NQs £112,500.
Shearman lawyers further up the ladder are also cashing in. The US firm — which has deep roots in London dating back to 1972 — confirmed that mid-level associates (those with three-and-a-half-years’ post-qualification experience (PQE) and up) will now take home £138,000 (up 9.5% from £126,000). Meanwhile, senior associates (six-and-a-half-years’ PQE and up) have seen pay packets swell to £165,000 (up 5.6% from £156,000).
Shearman’s trainee pay will remain unchanged. Those in year one of their training contracts will continue to earn £45,000, rising to £50,000 in year two. Commenting on today’s pay rises, Shearman & Sterling’s London managing partner, Nick Buckworth, said:
We are committed to attracting and retaining the best of the brightest associates. Our salary rate increase is an acknowledgment of the hard work and commitment of our talented associates and recognises their ongoing contributions to the firm’s success.
Offering around 17 UK training contracts each year, Shearman & Sterling performed well in Legal Cheek’s 2016 Trainee & Junior Lawyer Survey. It bagged A*s for quality of work, partner approachability, perks, social life and international secondment opportunities.
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