City law firm Simmons & Simmons will boost pay for its newly qualified lawyers in London to £100,000, in a bid to retain junior lawyers being wooed by other firms with the promise of ever higher starting salaries.
The rise marks a jump of £12,000 for newly qualified lawyers at the firm, who currently take home £88,000 annually.
Its lawyers based in offices in Bristol will also see a raise to £68,000 from £56,000.
Simmons & Simmons said the new salaries would come into effect from the first day of the new year.
The news comes amid an ongoing bidding war between City law firms for junior legal talent, which has seen a flood of pay raise announcements for newly qualified lawyers.
Last week Baker McKenzie joined the battle after announcing a salary hike for newly qualified lawyers to £105,000 while Linklaters made a similar announcement earlier in the year and increased pay to over £107,000 a year for its new lawyers.
Last week it was reported that ‘magic circle’ law firm Linklaters planned to go even further, and shift away from its traditional pay model for partners so the firm could hold on to “exceptional” individuals by offering even larger salaries.
Law firms have fared well in 2021 despite lockdowns and a recovering economy. Revenue of the 100 biggest UK law firms grew by four per cent to £28.8bn in 2021, according to a report published earlier this week by a professional body for financial and professional services.
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