Eversheds has frozen its salaries for newly-qualified (NQ) lawyers in both
London and the regions.
The national law firm has frozen its NQ pay at £62,000 in London and £39,000 elsewhere, a move that follows the firm’s decision last year not step back from a pay war involving rival firms.
In 2007 Eversheds bolstered its City pay by 17% to move above the £60,000 mark, but failed to reach the £40,000 NQ pay benchmark set by rival firms outside London, with regional offices such as Birmingham, Cambridge, Leeds and Newcastle receiving an 11% increase to £39,000.
In addition, Eversheds solicitors with one-year post-qualification experience have had their pay bands frozen at £61,000-£68,000 in London and £37,250-£40,500 for those outside the capital.
Last year Eversheds introduced new performance bands for junior salaries, a move which gave NQs the opportunity to earn more than their seniors.
Pay for two-year post-qualified lawyers onwards remains almost entirely merit-based.
The move will come as a surprise after Pinsent Masons, DLA Piper and Wragge & Co all announced pay increases in both London and the regions, while Hammonds announced a 3% pay increase in London despite freezing NQ pay at regional offices at £40,000.
Pinsents raised its NQ rates in the City to £64,000, a £1,000 increase on last year, while lawyers in the firm’s regional offices saw salaries increase by £1,000 to £41,000.
Lawyers in Scotland saw the biggest rise, with NQ rates for the coming year standing at £37,000 — a 9% increase on last year’s figure of £34,000.
Wragges raised its City NQ rate by £1,000 to £63,000 and similar increases in Birmingham saw pay rise to £41,000 from £40,000 — an increase of 1.6% and 2.5% respectively.
Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft’s
London office also froze its NQ salary, with rates remaining at £75,000 after last year’s £5,000 hike.
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