Willkie bumps London newly qualified lawyer pay to £175,000

Trainees salaries also up

US outfit Willkie Farr & Gallagher has boosted pay for its newly qualified lawyers in London, increasing to a bumper £175,000.

This marks a 6% raise from the previous figure of £165,000, and places the firm joint fourth across the UK for NQ pay.

Further down the ladder trainees have also received a financial boost. First year trainee pay has been increased from £55,000 to £60,000, with second year pay rising by the same amount from £60,000 to £65,000. This brings the firm in line with the other US firm London offices.

The Legal Cheek Firms Most List 2025 shows that the firm takes on around six trainees each year, with its latest retention rate sitting at 80%.

This is the third year in a row that Willkie has raised lawyer pay, increasing from £145,000 at the beginning of 2023. The total pay increase since then stands at 20%.

The news comes after earlier this month fellow US player Debevoise & Plimpton raised its City NQ salaries to £173.1k, with trainee pay remaining on £55,000 and £60,000.

These recent uplifts follow a bumper 2024 for junior lawyer salaries. Across the year the average NQ pay rose by 7.5%, with some increasing by as much as 20%. The top payers remain Gibson Dunn and Paul Weiss, offering an eye-watering £180,000 (excluding bonuses).