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Hogan Lovells pushes NQ lawyer pay to £140k

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By Legal Cheek on

6

Extra £5k

Man receiving cash bonus
Hogan Lovells has raised the salaries of its newly qualified (NQ) associates in London to £140,000, the firm has confirmed.

This marks a £5,000 increase from the previous rate of £135,000, which was introduced following an uplift last summer.

The firm stressed that base salaries are only “one component of lawyer remuneration” and that it operates a “total compensation matrix that includes a competitive bonus scheme, taking into account both chargeable work and other contributions to the firm and our values”.

The Legal Cheek Firms Most List shows Hogan Lovells’ City NQs now earn the same as their counterparts at Baker McKenzie and Macfarlanes, and pull ahead of those at Herbert Smith Freehills who earn £135,000.

The firm recruits around 50 trainees each year on starting salary of £56,000, rising to £61,000 in year two.

Hogan Lovells has also confirmed that NQ pay in Birmingham remains unchanged at market-leading £85,000. Trainee salaries in London also remain the same, at £56,000 in the first year, rising to £61,000 in the second year.

Earlier this year Legal Cheek reported that the firm had achieved another year of solid financial growth, with total global revenue reaching $2.97 billion (£2.32 billion) in 2024, up 9% from the previous year.

 The 2025 Legal Cheek Firms Most List

6 Comments

unhapppyatHL

This is not what it appears (at least for most HL associates).

The bunching at HL is notoriously awful, possibly the worst of any the major London firms, and will now get worse. Not uncommon for senior associates to be paid 20k above the NQ rate, all the while the firm charges those associates out at 40% plus or more per hour than they charge for an NQ.

I know from experience friends at similar firms of the same vintage whose basic salary is 50k more than mine (obviously not suggesting US firms are comparable).

The gaslighting and pay opacity on pay is possibly the worst part. You are told you are in a “band”, they don’t publish or tell you what those “bands” are, so you have no idea whether you are being treated fairly.

All designed so the firm can squeeze as much profit out of London as possible.

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(33)(4)

Anonymous

I can confirm I’ve seen worse bunching including at my firm (top 30 city firm). I’m 5 PQE and am on £3K more than NQs whom I mentor and supervise.

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(21)(2)

HL meh

Consistently been told over a few reviews that I’m at the top or near the top of the salary bands for my level as I’m performing very well – a quick ask around my PQE reveals the opposite. It’s like they assume there’s no chance we might ever speak to each other about pay.

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(21)(0)

Anon 2

I can never understand the bunching argument. Do you hear yourself? You earn significantly over £100k more than the average UK salary… look at the bigger picture.

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(6)(45)

Anon 3

The comparison to the average salary in the UK is irrelevant to this discussion – law as a profession pays high salaries. The point here is that, like any other profession, experience should be rewarded and additional responsibility compensated appropriately. This is not happening due to salary bunching – a 5+ PQE lawyer should be paid significantly more than an NQ, who is often barely more useful than a trainee.

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(22)(0)

Come on

We are comparing law firm salaries to each other not to the UK average. If firm A and firm B both publish 150k salary at NQ, but what they don’t say is that firm A pays 350k at 7pqe (made up figures for illustrative purposes) and firm B pays 190k at 7pqe, the two firms do NOT pay associates the same. Bunching refers to how NQ salary can conceal huge differences between associate pay at different firms. Do your research please.
Anyone who is offered an NQ position: do NOT accept this over another firm with similar NQ until you know what the bunching is like. It’s harder to go to a higher ranked firm that pays senior associates a lot more if you start your career at the lower firm, thinking “wow, same salary but less hours”. Nope. It is a lot harder to jump ship when you’re 4pqe and the salary difference is 150k. DO. YOUR. DUE. DILIGENCE. Peace

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(7)(1)

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