White & Case has responded to the latest round of pay rises in the City with the US giant unveiling associate salary increases of between 12% and 18%.
The increases mean that a newly qualified lawyer at the US firm’s City base will now receive £76,000 before bonuses – an increase of 12.6% on last year’s salary of £67,500.
Lawyers with one year’s post-qualification experience (PQE) get a 15% increase in salary to receive £84,000, up from £73,000 last year; lawyers with two years’ PQE will take home £95,000, up from £82,500; three-year qualified lawyers will receive £106,000, up from £94,750.
Four-year PQE lawyers will now receive £123,000 – an increase of 16% rise. More senior associates will receive an increase of 18%.
The firm has also upped its trainee salaries by more than 13%, up from £36,000 to £41,000. The closely-watched increases put the firm – which last year raised salaries by around 7% – comfortably ahead of magic circle rivals, which are paying newly-qualified lawyers between £63,500 and £65,000 before bonuses.
White & Case has also raised the bar for US firms in London paying mid-Atlantic rates, following the 4% rises announced by rival Shearman & Sterling last week. Shearman now pays newly-qualified lawyers £75,000.
However, a number of top New York firms pay their newly-qualified lawyers in London more than £85,000. The news comes after a robust performance by White & Case’s City arm over the last 12 months. The firm announced a 38% increase in revenues to $172.2m (£88.4m) and a 67% increase in average profits per partner, which reached $1.276m (£657,000) from $764,000 (£392,000).
The firm's London office currently houses almost 350 lawyers, with the firm seeking to add a further 50 fee earners by the end of the year.
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