NQ rates remain at £115k despite rivals raising
Elite law firm Slaughter and May is keeping salaries for newly qualified (NQ) associates at £115,000 for the time being, despite rivals Allen & Overy and Linklaters both upping pay earlier this month.
Slaughters conducts pay reviews every six months, the most recent of which is understood to have taken place last month. NQ rates were kept the same but eligible associates shifted up through the post-qualification pay bands as normal.
The decision comes as both A&O and Links recently increased to £125,000, matching similar moves by Freshfields and Clifford Chance in spring 2022.
The Legal Cheek Firms Most List 2023 shows that as things stand, Slaughters is now the only member of the Magic Circle not to offer the £125k rate. It last upped junior lawyer pay in April 2022, a 7% bump from £107,500.
Slaughters recruits around 95 trainees each year, with TC pay set at £50,000 in year one, rising to £55,000 in year two.