Ropes & Gray has upped its salary for newly qualified solicitors to £130,000, putting it among the highest paying US firms.

The Boston-headquartered outfit boosted it salary for London NQs by £10,000, meaning it is in line with the likes of Milbank, Sidley Austin and Weil Gotshal. However, it is not at the top of the pack, with the London offices of US firms such as Akin Gump and Debevoise & Plimpton paying NQs in excess of £140,000.

The generous pay packets of US firms have put pressure on UK firms. Last year, Linklaters, Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy and Freshfields all upped their salaries to a minimum of £100,000 in order to stay competitive.

Ropes & Gray also announced that it is taking on two of its three trainees. The firm’s London office now has 124 fee-earners, including 23 partners and six counsel. Meanwhile, Freshfields is taking on 35 of its 39 trainees (90%) in its spring retention round.