Forsters boosts NQ lawyer pay to £80k — also ups law school maintenance grants

£8k for both PGDL and SQE

Mayfair-based law firm Forsters has upped salaries for newly qualified (NQ) lawyers by 14%, from £70,000 to £80,000.

There’s also good news for their future trainees, with the firm’s maintenance grant moving from £6,000 to £8,000 for both the Postgraduate Diploma in Law and the Solicitors Qualifying Examination.

Our Firms Most List 2023 shows that the uplifts put the firm’s newest associates on the same levels of cash as their opposite numbers at Bristows, Charles Russell Speechlys, Clyde & Co, Kennedys, and Trowers & Hamlins.

Forsters’ first year trainees receive a salary of £43,500, while those in their second year will earn £45,500. The firm recruits ten trainees each year.

Emily Holdstock, partner and head of graduate recruitment, told Legal Cheek: “As part of our ongoing strategy to recruit and retain top talent, we are pleased to announce a salary increase for our newly qualified solicitors as part of our comprehensive benefits package. In addition, we are increasing our PGDL and SQE grants by more than 30%.”

She continued: “This strategic investment in the future of our firm aligns closely with our values and further underpins our commitment to enabling all of our staff to deliver excellence and to achieve the best possible outcomes for our clients.”

The firm is perhaps best known for specialising in private client and real estate work and is planning a move to new premises at 22 Baker Street in the heart of Marylebone later this year.

In our latest Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey, Forsters chalked-up A*s for quality work, peer support and that all-important work/life balance.