5% uplift
Ashurst has upped the salaries of its newly qualified (NQ) solicitors.
The silver circle player confirmed junior lawyer base rates now sit at £90,000, a boost of 5% from £85,500.
A firm spokesperson said “we carefully monitor and review our pay structures each year to attract and retain talent and remain competitive”. The new £90k sum came into effect in May and excludes bonus.
Legal Cheek’s Firms Most List shows today’s money move puts Ashurst on a pay par with the likes of Hogan Lovells, Mayer Brown and Reed Smith.
Ashurst offers around 40 training contacts annually, with trainees receiving a salary of £47,000 in year one, rising to £52,000 in year two.
The pay uplift comes just days after we revealed Clifford Chance had boosted junior lawyer base rates to £100,000, up from a previous salary (and Legal Cheek estimate) of roughly £93,000. CC’s NQs are eligible for a bonus on top of the new six-figure sum.
