Extra £10k
Katten has become the latest US law firm to raise junior lawyer salaries in the City, as American pay increases continue to ripple through the UK legal market.
The Chicago-founded firm has bumped newly qualified (NQ) rates from £125,000 to £135,000, a £10,000 rise of 8%. More senior associates have also benefited, with those at one year of post-qualification experience (PQE) earning £142,000, rising to £150,000 at two PQE, £170,000 at three, £180,000 at four and £190,000 at five.
The rises are effective from 1 July.
The Legal Cheek Firms Most 2026 shows the increases put Katten’s NQs ahead of DLA Piper and Travers Smith, both at £130,000, and just behind a cluster of firms offering £140,000, including Ashurst, Hogan Lovells and Macfarlanes.
Katten chairman Gil Soffer said the rises reflect its “long-term commitment to the London market and the important role it plays within our firm”.
“Our associates are integral to our exceptional client service and to the continued success of our firm,” he continued. “As we continue to execute on the goals of Katten 2030, our strategic plan for sustained growth and excellence, investing in our people remains one of our highest priorities.”
The moves follow Milbank’s decision to push NQ rates to $235,000 (around £175,000), which triggered a broader wave of increases across the market. Among those to follow suit was Quinn Emanuel, which raised its NQ salary to a record £189,000.
This pay war is a game of katten mouse
They take 5 trainees and have a 33% retention rate….congratulations to the 1-2 people this benefits.
This will benefit at a minimum every associate up to 5+ pqe given that they are all receiving pay rises .
Not only that, but Katten are also capable of hiring at NQ – maybe some trainees leave to join other firms, in-house, leave law etc, rather than not being kept on because there’s no business case. Two retained trainees doesn’t necessarily mean two NQs.
Published NQ rates are there to attract students to apply to their trainee positions. We all know how much salaries can compress after the NQ level, and if their pay scale was so competitive, they would publish it like cravath.
The NQ rate is not there to attract NQ laterals, which is far rarer than the firm simply retaining trainees they trained for 2 years, because the hiring will be done on an ad hoc basis and a recruiter will simply tell a candidate about the salary/role rather than someone actively seeking out the role at the firm because they heard “the NQ rate is 135k at Katten”
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