Cleary boosts trainee pay to £67.5k in London

I’ve been following the reactions to Cleary Gottlieb’s new trainee pay — and the comments say it all:
🔹 “Calculate how many hours you actually work…”
🔹 “Nice if you’re in London, but I’m home by 5.”
🔹 “Most 22-year-olds will grind for the prestige + £150k later.”

Here’s the truth: all of these perspectives are right.
Yes — the hourly rate in City firms can be eye-watering when you factor in the hours.
Yes — work-life balance is often better outside London.
Yes — the prestige + early career acceleration is why many still choose the US/MC route.

👉 But here’s the part we’re not talking about: the nature of the legal career itself is changing.
The “CV prestige grind” assumes law careers will always progress in the same old way. But the rise of AI, automation, and synthetic intelligence means the next generation of lawyers will measure success differently:
• By how well they integrate technology into their practice.
• By whether they can scale their time and impact with tools, not just billable hours.
• By building careers that are not tied to geography — or even to the traditional firm model.

So yes, trainee pay is important. But the bigger question is:
Are we training lawyers to survive on £67.5k… or to thrive in a profession being rewritten by technology?

#LegalTech #FutureOfLaw #Solicitors #TrainingContracts #AIinLaw #SyntheticIntelligence