Rising salaries for junior lawyers put pressure on senior associates’ pay packages
US law firms continue to drive a fierce salary war in London, leaving UK firms scrambling to keep up with soaring pay for junior lawyers, but as starting salaries rise, growing pay gaps threaten to unsettle senior associates, writes Maria Ward-Brennan.
As of next month, London associates at Quinn Emanuel will see their salaries increase by 5 per cent across the board, with newly qualified (NQ) lawyers set to take home £189,000, up from £180,000. The firm is increasing its salaries across the board, with its most senior associates taking home up to £373,000 per year.
It is known that if you want to take home a big packet, work for a US law firm. These firms have been steadily increasing their presence in London for over a decade, but in the true American way, they upped the ante to try and win ground in the City, resulting in the modern-day ‘pay war’.
Top-tier US firms like Milbank, Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, Gibson Dunn, and Paul Weiss have consistently led the salary tables, offering six-figure salaries for their most junior lawyers.
This, in turn, has put a lot of pressure on the British legal giants, especially the magic circle, which have been forced to raise their starting salaries to try to remain competitive for talent, but have never quite matched the US players.
Since 2024, there has been a little less movement at this level than at the higher end, with Gibson Dunn, Davis Polk, Paul Weiss, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher holding the top position at £180,000. However, last Friday, Quinn took a sledgehammer to this conversation after it upped its salaries, both in the City and across the Pond.
And by doing so, it relights the conversation around the legal ‘pay war’, a conversation most managing partners don’t want to see in the headlines. The magic circle firms – such as Freshfields, Linklaters, Clifford Chance, and Slaughter & May – are completely aligned at £150,000 in London, meaning they are over £37,000 behind Quinn on starting salaries for NQs.
However, the conversation around this is always focused on the pressure it puts on the silver circle and middle tier, and on clients’ concerns about junior staff being paid so much, since it’ll be reflected in higher bills. But it is worth noting these lawyers aren’t working for free – they are expected to be on the clock 24/7, pulling 13-hour working days, with interruptions to holidays and even sick leave not uncommon.
The glaring pay discrepancy
Yet, the real talking point should focus on the glaring discrepancy this pay war may inflict on more senior associates at the firms.
Ria Karnik, managing director at Major Lindsey & Africa, explained: “As pay rises from below, those in mid-level associate and senior associate roles could easily be troubled by the numbers they are seeing.
“No firm wants a resentful middle tier, but they may get one.
“UK mid-level and senior associates taking on greater management, mentoring and business development responsibilities are beginning to question narrowing pay differentials, and a further NQ salary increase could result in a further exodus of mid-to-senior level associates from UK firms into US firms.”
Nick Woolf, partner at Woolf&Co, added that the “bigger issue is whether the pace of associate salary inflation remains economically sustainable across the wider market, rather than whether Quinn itself can afford these rates”.
As the salary gap potentially widens, law firms may face a new challenge in retaining their experienced talent while trying to keep pace in an escalating pay war for junior recruits.
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