£140k and £160k
Dechert and Fried Frank have become the latest US law firms to up the already impressive salaries of their junior lawyers in London.
Rates for Dechert’s freshly qualified associates have moved from £125,000 to £140,000, an impressive uplift of £15,000 or 12%.
The move comes some four months after the firm, which offers around ten training contacts each year, increased the salaries of its trainees in London to £50,000 in year one and £55,000 in year two.
Elsewhere, Fried Frank has increased the base rates of its newly qualified (NQ) lawyers by 10% — £145,000 to £160,000. Trainees currently earn £55,000 in year one, rising to £60,000 in year two, following a pay bump in November.
The Legal Cheek Firms Most List 2022 shows Fried Frank’s NQs are now among the highest paid in the City, with only fellow US player Goodwin Procter dishing out more — a staggering £161,500. Dechert’s money move, meanwhile, sees it match the salary already on offer at White & Case.
The increases come as the chief executive of DWF, Sir Nigel Knowles, warned last week that skyrocketing salaries are simply a “sticking plaster” and the legal industry needs to find better ways of incentivising young lawyers.