So Tinseltown`s message is this: human rights lawyers are hot and corporate lawyers are not. But the Student Guide cannot support this crude dichotomy: everything in the legal profession is nuanced and very diverse – nothing more than income. In this age of legal aid poverty, the real Mark Darcy would look much less hot if he worked for minimum wage and lived under his aunt`s stairs (stir up, Potter). Meanwhile, we learned last week that a Linklaters partner won £3.2 million. But does money make you hot? And should your predicted sharpness even be a factor in career choice and associated salary? If it`s a yes to both, then the following will be helpful. The increases mean clifford Chance`s early years are now at the same cash flow level as their Akin Gump counterparts Cleary Gottlieb and White & Case (who raised apprentices` salaries earlier this summer), while the second years are now £1,500 better than those of their next rival in the magic circle Linklater. With this fascinating and informal nickname comes an ever-growing reputation; Described by Laura Paddison, author of The Guardian, these are the companies that promise “top graduates a sparkling name on their resumes, top-tier corporate clients, and a great education.” Magic Circle`s linklaters law firm offers newly trained lawyers – some as young as 24 – contracts worth £107,500 a year. Although Vinson & Elkins pays the most, Kirkland & Ellis is clearly the winner among US companies with an impressive 100% retention rate and a whopping NQ salary of £146,000. Interns can sleep very well at night after having dinner and are paid by the company if they work too late. The highest salary for the first year is currently £40,000, while NQ`s highest salary is more dispersed (with a difference of more than £10,000 between places one and five). The NQ salary has also increased more in recent years than the first year salary (for example, Linklaters` NQ salary has increased by £7,000 in the last five years, while the first year`s salary has only increased by £4,600). Why should this be the case? Well, this may well indicate that companies need to fight harder to recruit the best NQs than to get the best interns.
With companies competing with each other to recruit Star IQs, they skip each other to raise their salaries after qualifying. This is good news for qualified interns. Fans of Obama`s love story may yearn for a training contract with Sidley Austin, where the former US president was once a Vac schemer and the former first lady his superior. The company is known for bringing together one of the most iconic power couples of all time. but unfortunately not for its retention rates. Linklaters also offers subsidised tuition fees to its apprentices, while they receive £50,000 a year after the start of their apprenticeship contract. Increase to £55,000 in the second year. But imagine this: you spend your two-year training contract working until the early hours of the morning for fewer pounds per hour than your colleagues in international companies, your roommates barely and just recognize you just when you are about to qualify and make a lot of money, you are not owned by the company of your dreams.
It sounds like a nightmare, but for some, it`s a harsh reality. London apprentices earn the most, both inside and outside the City, while beginners from the South East and South West also do quite well. The North West, North East and Wales are the lowest paid regions. In fact, the Welsh average of £17,919 is below the new Law Society recommended minimum wage of £18,183 for businesses outside London. Again, it depends on the type of business you`re in. Trading firm Geldards pays £21,000 to its Cardiff first-year student, while its counterparts at Newcastle`s leading company, Ward Hadaway, receive £22,000 – two figures well above the regional average. Pennington Manches Cooper is the winner in this category with the highest salary of interns and NQs, but there seems to be a greater chance of continuing to be employed by other companies in this category. You`ll see all the Magic Circle companies listed above (Freshfields pays £67,500 to the NQ if you`ve ever wondered) and most of the money circle – but these aren`t the only companies that pay well. Watson Farley & Williams, a mid-sized urban company, actually exceeds part of the silver circle when it comes to first-year salaries, as does the national company DLA Piper (at least in London). The Magic Circle and other large international companies are struggling to keep up.
Most have far more apprentices than their American competitors and simply cannot afford to pay each of them such high wages. With this in mind, they need to think about other ways to attract and retain talent. It is probably no coincidence that the NQ flat wages of the largest companies are starting to disappear. Many are now talking about “salary ranges” with the top performers who are able to earn much more than the base salary. .
