White & Case has announced it is making significant increases in salaries across its associate pay scale with newly-qualified (NQ) lawyers set to receive 20% more in 2015 and take home £90,000.
Effective form 1 May, the move sees the firm paying more than those Magic Circle firms that have announced across trainees and junior lawyers pay bands. The NQ rise from £75,000 is the largest percentage increase but lawyers with one year post-qualified experience (PQE) will also receive a £15,000 boost taking wages from £80,000 to £95,000.
Those with two years PQE will now be paid £101,000, an £8,500 increase to last year’s £92,500 while lawyers with a further year’s experience will be paid £5,000 more, taking home £110,000.
Trainees are also seeing their incomes rise with first years having a £1,000 extra with a salary of £44,000 while year 2 trainees will get £48,000 – up from £46,000.
Both Slaughter and May and Clifford Chance have revealed their salary bands for this year, taking NQ pay to £70,000 and, while Linklaters gave a more modest boost to NQs, its three year PQEs salaries neared £100,000 at £98,500. The move also follows Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer decision to freeze salaries for junior lawyers at 2014’s levels.
White & Case’s pay bands comprise:
Trainee Year 1: £44,000
Trainee Year 2: £48,000
NQ: £90,000
PQE 1: £95,000
PQE 2: £101,000
PQE 3: £110,000
michael.west@legalease.co.uk
