Top pay at US law firms climbs to over £150k for London’s new solicitors
Legal practice for the elite has thrived in London despite the pandemic, as an increasing number of US law firms have upped their pay for new solicitors.
Houston-based firm Vinson & Elkins last month confirmed its new starting pay of £153,400, up four per cent from the year prior.
The Texan firm topped the ranks for London firms with the best pay for those newly qualified.
Fellow US firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan also bolstered its pay last week, which swelled by £11,000 – meaning its new lawyers would start with £146,000 a year.
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After Vinson & Elkins, the top five salaries paid to newly qualified solicitors in the City are at Sidley Austin at £148,000, Washington’s Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld at £145,000, Chicago’s Kirkland & Ellis at £145,000 and Los Angeles-based Latham & Watkins at £145,000.
Meanwhile, the London firms with the highest pay still lag behind their US counterparts. City firms Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer all pay £100,000 for new solicitors.
City law firm wages dwarf that of investment banking, which has been known for its lofty graduate salaries.
According to the Institute of Student Employers, starting salaries at the big banks teeter slightly over £40,000.
The legal sector had a record-breaking month in March as it raked in total revenue of £4.06bn, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), up nearly 20 per cent on March last year
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