Clifford Chance follows Freshfields with £100,000 NQ solicitor pay

Six-figure sum includes bonus

Clifford Chance has followed Freshfields’ lead and upped newly qualified (NQ) solicitor pay to £100,000, it emerged this morning.

Junior lawyers at Clifford Chance’s Canary Wharf HQ will now start lawyer life on a hefty £100,000, up from a previous salary of £91,000 including discretionary bonuses. It is worth noting, however, that Clifford Chance’s new and improved figure still includes bonuses, meaning Freshfields‘ NQs still have the potential to out-earn their magic circle counterparts, with discretionary bonuses on top of their £100,000 rates.

Today’s money move will pile further pressure on the rest of the elite fivesome to follow suit. As it stands, NQs at Allen & Overy, Linklaters and Slaughter and May receive base rates of £83,000 respectively.

Assuming Clifford Chance’s lot receive their discretionary bonuses, Legal Cheek‘s Firms Most List shows that they’re now on a pay par with their opposite numbers at US outfit Covington & Burling (£100,000).