Slaughter and May announced today (4 September) that it has increased salaries for its newly-qualified associates to £150k. 

The new figure equates to a 20% raise on the previous £125k and follows Slaughters coming under pressure after its UK Magic Circle rivals – Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters, Clifford Chance and A&O Shearman – announced in May they were making identical increases.  

Slaughters said the raise was made as part of a review of all associate salaries but declined to comment on individual salary scales. 

“Following recent market moves, we have brought forward our November pay review. We have now completed a review of salaries for all associates and our NQ salary will increase to £150,000, effective from 1 September,” a spokesperson commented. “Our approach to pay reflects the firm’s values, allows us to attract and retain the best talent, and ensures that we maintain our culture of excellence and collegiality.”

Slaughters’ pay bump comes amid an ongoing junior salary war that has seen repeated rounds of raises on both sides of the Atlantic. In June City stalwart MacFarlanes said it was upping NQ pay to £140k – making it the highest-paying UK firm behind the Magic Circle, while in July a clutch of firms boosted their rates, including Herbert Smith Freehills (£135k), DLA Piper (£110k) and HFW (£100k). 

Despite the raises, Slaughters and the rest of the Magic Circle are nowhere near the top of the market, which is dominated by big US firms that benefit from being anchored in their lucrative home market. Quinn Emanuel and Gibson Dunn are at the top of the pile with an eye-watering £180k rate, with Paul Weiss, which is launching a new UK training contract, set to pay the inaugural cohort the same amount upon qualification. 

Those firms are followed by an elite group of US outfits that pay £170k or more. Akin, Fried Frank and Milbank all pay their NQs £177.5k, while Sidley Austin and Goodwin Procter have recently upped their rate to £175k.

Meantime six more firms – Vinson & Elkins, Kirkland, Latham & Watkins, Paul Hastings, Davis Polk and Weil – have rates ranging from £170k to just shy of £174k.