Two more City firms have upped their salaries for newly qualified solicitors as pressure mounts from US practices.

NQs at magic circle firm Linklaters will enjoy a salary of £100,000 plus a discretionary performance bonus from September. The practice cut associate pay last August to £90,000 per annum plus bonus in response to pandemic pressure, in a reversal of 2019’s pay battle.

Eversheds Sutherland

Eversheds Sutherland has increased NQ pay from £75,500 to £82,000 in London

Source: Darren Filkins

Meanwhile, Eversheds Sutherland has increased NQ pay from £75,500 to £82,000 in London and from £45,000 to £50,000 elsewhere for solicitors who qualify in September.

Lorraine Kilborn, chief people officer at Eversheds Sutherland, said: ‘We are committed to attracting and retaining the best junior talent in the highly competitive UK market. Our NQs will benefit from the firm’s market-leading training and development programme, Empower, which will equip them with the business and technical skills required for each stage of their careers, from NQ to senior associate, and includes legal knowledge, legal project management, client relationship development, and building their personal brands.’

Last week, it emerged that newly qualified solicitors at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan – which is headquartered in Los Angeles - will be paid almost as much as the mayor of London, after the City firm hikes the starting salary of associates to over £145,000.

Trainees who qualify this year will be paid £146,000, up from the previous benchmark of £135,000. Those with one year of post-qualification experience (PQE) will receive £154,000 and those with two years' PQE will get £166,000. The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan's salary currently stands at £152,734.