‘Fair and transparent structure’
Shoosmiths has joined the summer salary surge, announcing a bump to £105k for its London newly-qualified solicitors (NQs). Meanwhile, the firm has also taken the opportunity to reflect on how NQ pay rises affect more senior lawyers’ pay.
The pay rise to £105,000 in London is up £8k from the previous £97k. This hike, around 8%, pushes Shoosmiths in line with Gowling WLG, which made the announcement last week. Also sitting at £105k are Pinsents and Stephenson Harwood, the Legal Cheek Firms Most List shows.
There’s also an increase for England-based NQs outside of London, who will see a more than 6% increase from £63,000 to £67,000. Shoosmiths says the uplifts will take effect from autumn 2025, and “ensures the firm remains highly competitive in attracting and retaining early-career talent in a fast-moving market”.
In an interesting move alongside announcing the hike, Shoosmiths added: “We know the recent rise in NQ salaries has had a knock-on effect at other levels, creating understandable concerns around pay compression.”
“These dynamics are being felt across the market,” Shoosmiths continued, “and we remain committed to providing competitive salaries at all levels across the firm” — whilst drawing attention to their bonus scheme, which this year has included entering prompts into Microsoft’s AI, Copilot.
This comes just days after Legal Cheek‘s open thread on post-NQ salaries. Amid a flurry of over 160 comments, readers revealed that lawyers at many firms are experiencing salary bunching, where pay increases given to NQs aren’t being matched for more senior lawyers.
Summer NQ salary rises so far 🤑
| Firm | Location | NQ Salary (Before) | NQ Salary (After) | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mayer Brown | London | £135,000 | £150,000 | £15,000 |
| Baker McKenzie | London | £140,000 | £145,000 | £5,000 |
| Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer | London | £135,000 | £145,000 | £10,000 |
| Hogan Lovells | London | £135,000 | £140,000 | £5,000 |
| Ashurst | London | £125,000 | £140,000 | £15,000 |
| DLA Piper | London | £110,000 | £130,000 | £20,000 |
| Travers Smith | London | £120,000 | £130,000 | £10,000 |
| CMS | London | £110,000 | £120,000 | £10,000 |
| CMS | Bristol | £70,000 | £76,500 | £6,500 |
| CMS | Manchester / Sheffield / Liverpool | £62,000 | £68,000 | £6,000 |
| CMS | Edinburgh / Aberdeen / Glasgow | £60,000 | £68,000 | £8,000 |
| Shoosmiths | London | £97,000 | £105,000 | £8,000 |
| Shoosmiths | Manchester | £63,000 | £67,000 | £4,000 |
| Shoosmiths | Birmingham | £63,000 | £67,000 | £4,000 |
| Shoosmiths | Leeds | £63,000 | £67,000 | £4,000 |
| Shoosmiths | Reading | £63,000 | £67,000 | £4,000 |
| Shoosmiths | Nottingham | £63,000 | £67,000 | £4,000 |
| Gowling WLG | London | £98,000 | £105,000 | £7,000 |
| Gowling WLG | Birmingham | £64,000 | £65,500 | £1,500 |
| Gowling WLG | Leeds | £64,000 | £65,500 | £1,500 |
| HFW | London | £100,000 | £103,500 | £3,500 |
| Mishcon de Reya | London | £95,000 | £100,000 | £5,000 |
| RPC | London | £80,000 – £90,000 | £85,000 – £95,000 | £5,000 |
| RPC | Bristol | £56,000 | £60,000 | £4,000 |