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HFW bumps NQ solicitor pay to £103.5k

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By Lydia Fontes on

8

3.5% rise sees firm join summer salary scramble


International law firm HFW has announced an increase in salaries for its newly qualified (NQ) solicitors, effective immediately.

The shipping specialists confirmed rates for its most junior lawyers will move from £100,000 to £103,500, a nice little bump of 3.5%. The Legal Cheek Firms Most List shows that HFW recruits 18 trainees across its UK offices each year.

The boost comes after City firm Bird & Bird moved its NQ rates from £98,000 to £102,000 on Monday and puts HFW’s pay figures back ahead of TwoBirds (just!).

HFW NQs will now also be out-earning their peers at other firms in the £100k club such as Dentons and Stephenson Harwood, falling just short of their counterparts at Pinsent Masons and BCLP (both on £105,000).

This is the latest of a whole host of summer salary hikes for NQs at HSF Kramer (up to £145k), Eversheds Sutherland (up to £110k), Ashurst (up to £140k), DLA Piper (up to £130k) and more — HFW’s latest move making it clear that the junior lawyer pay war is still very much on.

The 2025 Legal Cheek Firms Most List

8 Comments

Ex-SH Lateral

SH are too focused on useless initiatives, rather than incentivising staff lol. Not expecting much from them. Everything is going down at that firm.

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(6)(2)

A broke mf

I wonder who will be next? Reed Smith?

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(0)(1)

Ouch

So after tax (assuming Plan 2 student loans and 5% pension contribution) its…. (checks notes)…. £134.34 a month, yikes

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(7)(0)

Shocking

Charles Russell are a disgrace with their 88k joke of a salary.

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(0)(1)

turbocopter

Then move firms you goon lmao

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(6)(0)

Pleasant surprises

3.5% for a city firm would usually be derisable compared to what is expected in this pay war – it’s a rate that you expect provincial firms to offer.

But.

It’s actually good to see that they aren’t increasing pay by 5 figures every year like everyone else. HFW could be leading a new trend, which would be a very welcome change. The point is, when the existing salary for the role is already 100k, even a 3.5% increase is quite significant.. which is sometimes forgotten.

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(1)(6)

X

Worth noting that £100k to £103.5k is almost exactly in line with CPI inflation and therefore not even a real terms pay increase.

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(5)(0)

Clyde & Co NQ

I’m on 80K

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(0)(1)

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