- Date
- 13 May 2024
Full Disclosure:
The US/UK Law Firm Salary Wars
By Jaysen Sutton |
Hi Reader šš½,
When I received my Weil offer (all the way back in 2015), the NQ salary was Ā£100k. Itās now Ā£170k.
The US-UK āpay warā was a big deal then. When US firms came into London, the story was that you get paid much better for roughly the same hours at the top London firms. So you might as well go to a US firm.
These US firms that entered London were more profitable. Itās a result of a few things - like their presence in the largest legal market, their focus on the most profitable practice areas (see Kirkland/Latham and PE), and their hours worked/charge out rates in the US.
But itās pretty bold (and smart?) of Freshfields to bump up NQ salaries. If you can promise junior lawyers a salary that is not that much different to US firms after tax, plus the supposed benefits of more of a work-life at a magic circle law firm, it becomes a more competitive offering.
Perhaps, more importantly, all the rage right now is A&O Shearman. But A&O Shearman also decided to align compensation at A&Oās baseline - at Ā£125,000. Suddenly Freshfieldsā salary looks a lot more attractive.
This is the kind of stuff thatās relevant when we talk about how law firms work as businesses. If you want to outcompete the many leading law firms out there, you need to attract lawyers that clients working on the biggest deals want to instruct. To attract great lawyers, you need to pay them well.
Have any thoughts? I'd love to hear your perspective below!
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