Law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges have raised pay for trainees making them the highest paid in the City, according to reports.
First year trainees will earn £60,000, up 20 per cent from £50,000 and second years will now take home £65,000, an 18 per cent rise from £55,000, according to Legal Cheek, which first reported the news.
The firm usually hires around 14 trainees in London every year. Newly qualified lawyers at Weil Gotshal & Manges earn a staggering £145,000, after a raise earlier this year.
The move follows a flurry of hikes by City law firms in a bid to retain and attract legal talent to keep up with a boom in business.
City law firm Simmons & Simmons announced a similar boost in pay for its newly qualified lawyers in London to £100,000 earlier this week.
Last week Baker McKenzie joined the bidding war by raising salaries for newly qualified lawyers to £105,000, while trainee lawyers also enjoyed a raise with first years earning £50,000, from £48,000, and second years £55,000, up from £52,000.
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.
Law firms are finding other ways to entice staff to stay on too. Earlier this month magic Circle law firm Linklaters announced plans to shift away from its traditional pay model for partners so the firm could hold on to “exceptional” individuals by offering even higher salaries. Meanwhile lawyers at US law firm Quinn Emanuel have been told they can work from anywhere indefinitely in an attempt to use flexible working to lure new hires.
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