5% rise from £88k
Bird & Bird has increased salaries for its newly qualified (NQ) lawyers in London.
Fresh faced associates at the international outfit will now earn a base salary of £92,400, a rise of 5% from £88,000. The uplift is effective 1 December 2022.
The Legal Cheek Firms Most 2023 shows Bird & Bird recruits around 18 trainees each year on a starting salary of £45,000. Year two rookies earn £50,000.
The new and improved rate means the firm’s NQs are now £400 better of than their counterparts at Dentons, Fieldfisher, Gowling WLG and Pinsent Masons. The likes of Addleshaw Goddard, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner and DLA Piper sit just ahead on £95,000.
“We are constantly looking at our employee salaries, wider offerings and packages to ensure we remain competitive,” a firm spokesperson told Legal Cheek. “Our people are our biggest asset and one of our priorities is to nurture our culture in the London office and make sure we provide our people with a career path that can help them succeed.”
“We have continued to review our salaries and although we are conscious of the economic headwinds our business continues to grow strongly,” they added.
Earlier this year Bird & Bird was one of number of firms to pay one-off bonus to its London staff to help with rising living costs. As reported by Legal Cheek at the time, the payment was made to those with a salary of £50,000 or less and amounted to £1,000 net of tax and national insurance.