SJ Berwin has hiked its pay for newly-qualified lawyers to £64,000, matching the increases already announced by City rivals including Ashurst and Herbert Smith.
The pay-rise represents a 16% increase on last year’s rate of £55,000 and places SJ Berwin above magic circle firms Clifford Chance and Slaughter and May, which both pay new solicitors £63,500.
Solicitors with one year’s post-qualification experience are handed a 17% rise, receiving £68,000 – up from £58,000 last year.
The rises will be closely watched by rivals after SJ Berwin pledged last year to match magic circle salaries following criticism for introducing a controversial bonus scheme that rewarded associates who billed up to 2,500 hours a year. Despite the rises, SJ Berwin lags behind Allen & Overy and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, which offer new solicitors a base rate of £65,000.
SJ Berwin operates a banded pay system for more senior lawyers, with the mid-point of each band matching mid-magic circle rates before bonuses are taken into account.
The news comes after SJ Berwin announced its provisional financial results earlier this month, with turnover up by almost a quarter (23%) to reach £190m.
Does this make up for SJB's bonus fiasco? Have your say with the Legal Week Wiki 2007 salary special.
