Second rises in seven months
CMS has increased salaries for newly qualified associates in London to £100,000, Legal Cheek can reveal.
The move equates to an extra £5,000 or 5%, with rates previous set at £95,000 following an uplift in December 2021.
The Legal Cheek Firms Most List 2022 shows the new six figure sum matches that already offered by the likes of Macfarlanes, Simmons & Simmons, Squire Patton Boggs and Travers Smith, and is just £7,500 behind magic circle player Allen & Overy (£107,500), which last week opted against further rises citing “challenging” economic conditions.
CMS recruits around 95 trainees each year, following a hike last summer which made it the second highest training contract provider in the UK. Linklaters sits in top spot with 100 TCs annually.
The firm’s London trainees earn a salary of £46,725 in year one, rising to £52,250 in year two.
Last week Legal Cheek reported that Herbert Smith Freehills had upped NQ rates to £120,000, in a move which saw it leapfrog big names including A&O and Linklaters (both £107,500) as well as Slaughter and May (£115,000).