The move comes just over a week after a Magic Circle firm breached £100,000
Shearman & Sterling now pays newly qualified solicitors £120,000.
That’s an increase of 14% from the firm’s previous £105,000 package for new lawyers. The jump comes just over a week after Freshfields Bruckhaus & Deringer became the first among the Magic Circle firms to offer NQs £100,000.
The boost means Shearman now pays NQs as well as fellow US-headquartered firms Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Davis Polk & Wardwell, and Ropes & Gray. It’s still below the market-leading packages at Akin Gump Straus Hauer & Feld, Debevoise & Plimpton, Kirkland & Ellis, and Latham & Watkins, which all reportedly pay NQs £143,000.
Shearman has also increased its pay for more senior lawyers. Associates, those with 3.5 years PQE, received a 7% increase to £148,000 from £138,000. Senior associates with at least 6.5 years PQE got a 6% hike to £175,000 from £165,000.
“We are pleased to be able to offer our associates an increased pay-scale across the board. This is part of our ongoing commitment as a firm to being an employer of choice and attracting and retaining the best talent,” said Matthew Readings, who heads Shearman in London.
