Rises for trainees too
BCLP has confirmed that its newly qualified (NQ) lawyers in London are now earning £125,000, following a pay rise at the start of the year.
The firm revealed this week a £10,000 pay rise — nearly 9% — bringing salaries up from £115,000.
The Legal Cheek Firms Most List 2026 shows the uplift brings BCLP’s first-year associates level with peers at Reed Smith, and £5,000 ahead of those at CMS and Simmons & Simmons.
London trainee salaries also rose at the start of the year, with first-years now earning £55,000 (up from £50,000) and second-years £58,000 (up from £55,000).
In Manchester, first-year trainees earn £33,000, rising to £37,000 in their second year, with NQ salaries on qualification sitting at £72,000.
The rises took effect in January 2026.
