Salary spotlight: What you’ll earn from day one of your training contract — with top firms offering new grads up to £65k

Legal Cheek reveals what firms are paying 💷

The battle among leading firms to attract the best young talent is as fierce as ever, with some graduates now pocketing starting salaries of up to £65,000 fresh off the back of the SQE.

As with newly qualified salaries and partner profits, the top of the table is dominated by the usual line-up of US heavyweights, with Davis Polk, Milbank and Sullivan & Cromwell leading the pack on a market-leading £65,000 for first-year trainees.

Among UK firms, Ashurst takes the crown at £57,000, closely followed by the Magic Circle and a host of City players clustered around the £55,000–£56,000 mark.

First-year salaries are only part of the picture. Trainees usually see a pay rise of around £5,000 in their second year, though increases can range from as little as £1,000 to as much as £8,000.

These latest figures follow a wave of pay increases for both trainees and NQs during the spring and summer months.

It’s also worth noting that some of the figures are for regional offices where firms either do not have a presence in the capital or do not recruit trainees in their London office.

You can view all our salary data, including rates for second-year trainees and newly qualified lawyers, on our 2026 Legal Cheek Firms Most List

How much are first-year trainees earning?

Law firm	First-year trainee pay
Davis Polk & Wardwell	£65,000
Milbank	£65,000
Sullivan & Cromwell	£65,000
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton	£62,500
King & Spalding	£62,000
White & Case	£62,000
Akin	£60,000
Gibson Dunn	£60,000
Jones Day	£60,000
Kirkland & Ellis	£60,000
Latham & Watkins	£60,000
Morrison Foerster	£60,000
Orrick	£60,000
Paul Hastings	£60,000
Paul Weiss	£60,000
Ropes & Gray	£60,000
Sidley Austin	£60,000
Vinson & Elkins	£60,000
Weil Gotshal & Manges	£60,000
Willkie Farr & Gallagher	£60,000
Morgan Lewis	£57,500
Ashurst	£57,000
A&O Shearman	£56,000
Baker McKenzie	£56,000
Clifford Chance	£56,000
Freshfields	£56,000
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer	£56,000
Hogan Lovells	£56,000
Linklaters	£56,000
Macfarlanes	£56,000
Norton Rose Fulbright	£56,000
Slaughter and May	£56,000
Winston & Strawn	£56,000
Cooley	£55,000
Debevoise & Plimpton	£55,000
Dechert	£55,000
Fried Frank	£55,000
Goodwin	£55,000
Katten	£55,000
Mayer Brown	£55,000
Osborne Clarke	£55,000
Travers Smith	£55,000
Simmons & Simmons	£54,000
Reed Smith	£53,000
Addleshaw Goddard	£52,000
Charles Russell Speechlys	£52,000
DLA Piper	£52,000
Dentons	£52,000
HFW	£52,000
Pinsent Masons	£52,000
Taylor Wessing	£52,000
Watson Farley & Williams	£51,000
BCLP	£50,000
CMS	£50,000
Eversheds Sutherland	£50,000
Greenberg Traurig	£50,000
Haynes Boone	£50,000
K&L Gates	£50,000
Mishcon de Reya	£50,000
Squire Patton Boggs	£50,000
Stephenson Harwood	£50,000
Harbottle & Lewis	£49,000
Payne Hicks Beach	£49,000
Bird & Bird	£48,500
Clyde & Co	£48,500
Farrer & Co	£48,500
Fieldfisher	£48,500
Gowling WLG	£48,500
Bristows	£48,000
Penningtons Manches Cooper	£48,000
RPC	£48,000
Wiggin	£48,000
Lewis Silkin	£47,500
Burges Salmon	£47,000
Forsters	£47,000
Trowers & Hamlins	£47,000
Withers	£47,000
Mills & Reeve	£46,800
Russell-Cooke	£46,000
TLT	£45,500
Howard Kennedy	£45,000
Shoosmiths	£44,000
Irwin Mitchell	£43,500
Bates Wells	£43,000
Hill Dickinson	£43,000
Kennedys	£43,000
Womble Bond Dickinson	£43,000
DAC Beachcroft	£42,000
Wedlake Bell	£42,000
Maples Teesdale	£41,837
Foot Anstey	£40,000
Kingsley Napley	£40,000
Marriott Harrison	£40,000
Shakespeare Martineau	£40,000
Stevens & Bolton	£40,000
Winckworth Sherwood	£40,000
Gateley	£39,000
DWF	£38,000
Michelmores	£37,500
Ashfords	£35,000
Birketts	£34,000
Weightmans	£34,000
Cripps	£33,000
Walker Morris	£31,500
Moore Barlow	£30,000
Brabners	£29,000
Express Solicitors	£28,500

You can view all our salary data, including rates for second-year trainees and newly qualified lawyers Legal Cheek Firms Most List

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