Help us fill the gaps by sharing your insider salary info below the line
It’s been another summer of hefty pay rises for junior lawyers across the City.
With Freshfields upping newly qualified (NQ) solicitor base rates to £100,000 back in May, it didn’t take long for the other members of the magic circle to splash the cash and seemingly match the Anglo-German giant’s big money move.
But who among the City’s elite fivesome is really paying the most?
Well, unfortunately, this question has become increasingly difficult to answer, with many City players (not just members of the magic circle) now preferring not to disclose their base rates, opting instead to provide a salary figure inclusive of bonus.
Motivations for doing so aside, the new approach has not gone down well with Legal Cheek readers. One commenter wrote: “All firms should be obligated to advertise base salaries excluding any bonuses. The current trend of throwing in every bonus under the sun is very misleading.” Another chipped in: “The reality is that there is the ability to earn that amount, not a manifest right to it.”
By way of a reminder, here’s the salary information which has been made public:
Magic circle NQ money moves 2019
| Firm | New salary base rate | Bonus |
| Allen & Overy | Not given | Sign-on bonus takes salary to £100,000 |
| Clifford Chance | Not given | Discretionary bonus takes salary to £100,000 |
| Freshfields | £100,000 | Discretionary bonus available on top of £100,000 |
| Linklaters | Not given | Discretionary performance bonus takes salary to £100,000 |
| Slaughter and May | £92,000 | Bonuses of around 8.5% take salary to over £100,000 |
So in a bid to shine a light on the fresh figures, we’re calling on our readers, many of whom will work for the firms in question, to share their insider knowledge in the Legal Cheek comments section below.
