Extra £20,000
US law firm Covington & Burling has raised the already impressive salaries of its London newly qualified (NQ) lawyers even further.
Junior lawyer pay at the Washington-headquartered outfit now sits at a hefty £120,000, up from a previous six-figure salary of £100,000 — a rise of £20,000 or 20%.
The fresh uplift puts Covington’s London lot — who work from offices on the Strand, just a stone’s throw from the Royal Courts of Justice — on the same cash levels as their peers at fellow US firms Cleary Gottlieb, Gibson Dunn, Ropes & Gray and Shearman & Sterling (£120,000).
Legal Cheek‘s 2020 Firms Most List shows the firm’s trainees are among some of the most well-compensated in the City, receiving £48,000 in year one, rising to £53,000 in year two. This put its year two rookies on an earnings par with their opposite numbers at White & Case (£53,000) and £500 better off than those at magic circle duo Allen & Overy and Linklaters (£52,500).
But grads looking to secure a TC at Covington will likely face stiff competition. The firm, which has attracted some big-name clients, including Apple, Bank of America and National Basketball Association (NBA), recruits just eight UK trainees each year.
Cold hard cash aside, the 13-office-outfit secured an A for quality of work in this year’s Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey, as well as Bs for training, peer support, partner approachability and office.