Slaughters raises newly qualified lawyer salaries to £125k

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By Rhys Duncan on

15

Early Christmas present


Slaughter and May has increased the salaries of it’s newly qualified (NQ) lawyers to £125,000 — a 7% bump from £115,000.

The raise brings the outfit in line with Magic Circle companions Clifford Chance, Linklaters, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and Allen & Overy, all of which offer the same NQ rate.

As recently as 2021, the firm offered NQs £90,500, nearly 40% lower than the new figure.

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Commenting on the raise, a spokesperson for Slaughters said:

“We are pleased to announce that we have completed a review of salaries for all associates. Our NQ salary will increase to £125,000, and all associates will move through the scales.”

Slaughters offers around 95 training contracts each year, with trainees earning a salary of £50,000 in year one and £55,000 in year two.

Earlier this year, the firm also increased its SQE maintenance grant from £17,000 to £20,000.

15 Comments

V

About time, cheapskates

Future trainee

Looks like the Slaughters finally realised that prestige, for all its good, is not an actual currency. Took them long enough to level up to the rest of the Magic Circle.

Frustrated S&M

What they haven’t mentioned is that they’ve now frozen salaries until 1.5 PQE and now bunched us all together so it’s effectively not a rise at all.

Anon

So you mean to say you now don’t get a pay rise on the ladder after your first year? That would be highly unusual if so!

Top G

A few nerds got pay rises. Ground-breaking news

Anon

Plus bonus?

Observer

Late to the party and clearly raising salaries begrudgingly, as usual.

Meanwhile, those at Milbank are pulling in £180,000 + bonuses.

lol

And if they are working similar hours, that’s even more of an L lol

slaughtered

Sure, but outside of crunch time we’re not working even similar hours to Milbank. They can pay more all they want: atleast I can go home sometimes.

Lol

Man said sometimes 🤣 whatever makes you feel you’re being paid fairly lol. At least you got prestige under your belt

Anon

How would you even know this?

Anonymous

What’s bonus like at US firms for Associates?

Kirkland NQ

Let’s just say my yacht broker is calling me round the clock, despite me telling him two are enough.

Q

Which uk law firm beat the pay and has the best bonuses overall and not talking at just NQ I mean after a few PQE where there’s no salary bunching. Like which firm if you play your cards right could make you financially free within the next few years?

brother this is not the way

the parable of the mexican fisherman and the banker springs to mind – if what tou want is to work like a nutter and be really rich (crucially at the same time), then fair enough, but otherwise think carefully

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