Salaries rocket as big City firms compete for trainees

Survey: students wooed with bonus schemes and pensions

Salaries for trainee solicitors at larger City firms are rising fast, a survey showed this week.The survey of 96 mainly large and medium-sized City firms by careers publisher GTI showed that 30% of firms are offering entrants between 26,000 and 30,000 - 26% more than two years ago - with 3% paying more than 30,000.

The average starting salary is 19,622, compared to 16,833 two years ago, a rise of almost 17%.While annual bonuses were unheard of in 2000, 31% are now using them to attract recruits.

Pension packages are also on the rise, with 62% using schemes as bait, compared to 40% in 2000.

Firms are putting more positions up for grabs this year, with each offering an average of 21 vacancies, compared to 17 last year.

Trainee Solicitors Group chairwoman Verity Chase said the results were good news.

'Overall, they are extremely encouraging and suggest the outlook is not as bleak as some people had predicted,' she said.However, Ms Chase expressed concern over law firms disguising long and stressful selection procedures as work placements to woo the best law students.The suggestion followed thefinding that 82% of the firms have warmed to the idea of providing work experience, compared to 52% last year.Ms Chase criticised firms for using work placements as a way of hunting out candidates.'The move towards this assessment places an added burden on graduates, who have to ensure they perform well for longer periods,' she said.

'The two-week placements often turn into long interviews, a process which is not replicated at any other stage in a legal career.'Paula Rohan