Despite COVID
The London office of US outfit Dechert has bumped the salaries of newly qualified (NQ) lawyers despite the financial uncertainty brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
The firm’s fresh-faced associates will now receive a salary of £120,000, up 3% from £116,000. London trainee pay remains unchanged, with first years receiving £45,000 and second years £50,000.
The pay boost follows decisions by several top City players to cut junior lawyer pay in response to COVID-19, including four out of five members of the magic circle. Other outfits, meanwhile, have opted to freeze salaries.
Legal Cheek‘s Firms Most List shows the new £120,000 sum puts Dechert’s NQs on a pay par with their peers at Covington Burling, Gibson Dunn, Orrick and Shearman and Sterling.
Legal Cheek reported yesterday that the vast majority (80%) of legal workers expect a pay rise within the next year, according to research published by jobs site CV-Library. Twenty percent also said they were confident of bagging a promotion in the next 12 months.