New Legal Cheek data
Legal Cheek has compiled an official rundown of newly qualified (NQ) lawyer salaries at over 100 top law firms in the UK — and spoiler: some are impressively high!
From the hefty pay packets for new recruits at top US law firms in London to the more modest (yet still pretty good) salaries at large regional firms that offer a solid work/life balance, we’ve got it all covered.
The latest figures reveal that NQ salaries across our list have risen by an average of 7.5% over the past 12 months since we last compiled the data. However, there is a notable disparity: a few firms have boosted pay by up to 20%, while many others have made no increases or offered raises below inflation.
Those top-end increases include salary boosts at all of the Magic Circle firms. With Freshfields igniting a fresh pay war earlier this year, Clifford Chance, Linklaters, Slaughter and May, and the newly formed A&O Shearman followed suit, raising salaries by an impressive £25,000 to reach £150,000.
Other big movers were White & Case, increasing from £140,000 to £170,000, Macfarlanes from £115,000 to £140,000, and Baker McKenzie with an impressive £22,000 raise to take pay also up to £140,000.
At the top of the table are the usual suspects — a group of leading US law firms. While these firms often expect long hours, with typical workdays spanning 12 to 13 hours (see our working hours data here), junior lawyers at the top 16 firms now earn upwards of £170,000. The highest newly qualified (NQ) salary, an impressive £180,000, is jointly held by Gibson Dunn and Paul Weiss. This represents a significant increase from last year, when only five firms offered NQ salaries above £170,000.
You can view all our salary data, including rates for trainees, on our 2025 Legal Cheek Firms Most List.
How much will I earn as a newly qualified solicitor?
| LAW FIRM | NQ SALARY |
| Gibson Dunn | £180,000 |
| Paul Weiss | £180,000 |
| Goodwin | £175,000 |
| Sidley Austin | £175,000 |
| White & Case | £175,000 |
| Akin | £174,000* |
| Kirkland & Ellis | £174,000* |
| Latham & Watkins | £174,000* |
| Paul Hastings | £174,000* |
| Vinson & Elkins | £173,077 |
| Fried Frank | £173,000 |
| Morgan Lewis | £173,000 |
| Milbank | £170,455 |
| Davis Polk & Wardwell | £170,000 |
| Sullivan & Cromwell | £170,000 |
| Weil Gotshal & Manges | £170,000 |
| Debevoise & Plimpton | £168,000 |
| Dechert | £165,000 |
| King & Spalding | £165,000 |
| Ropes & Gray | £165,000 |
| Willkie Farr & Gallagher | £165,000 |
| Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton | £164,500 |
| Jones Day | £160,000 |
| Cooley | £157,000 |
| A&O Shearman | £150,000 |
| Clifford Chance | £150,000 |
| Freshfields | £150,000 |
| Linklaters | £150,000 |
| Slaughter and May | £150,000 |
| Winston & Strawn | £150,000 |
| Baker McKenzie | £140,000 |
| Macfarlanes | £140,000 |
| Orrick | £140,000 |
| Herbert Smith Freehills | £135,000 |
| Hogan Lovells | £135,000 |
| Mayer Brown | £135,000 |
| Ashurst | £125,000 |
| Reed Smith | £125,000 |
| Norton Rose Fulbright | £120,000 |
| Simmons & Simmons | £120,000 |
| Travers Smith | £120,000 |
| K&L Gates | £115,000 |
| Katten Muchin Rosenman | £115,000 |
| Taylor Wessing | £115,000 |
| CMS | £110,000 |
| DLA Piper | £110,000 |
| Squire Patton Boggs | £110,000 |
| BCLP | £105,000 |
| Watson Farley & Williams | £102,000 |
| Dentons | £100,000 |
| Eversheds Sutherland | £100,000 |
| HFW | £100,000 |
| Stephenson Harwood | £100,000 |
| Bird & Bird | £98,000 |
| Gowling WLG | £98,000 |
| Pinsent Masons | £97,000 |
| Shoosmiths | £97,000 |
| Mischon de Reya | £95,000 |
| Withers | £95,000 |
| Osborne Clarke | £94,000 |
| Bristows | £92,000 |
| RPC | £90,000 |
| Charles Russell Speechlys | £88,000 |
| Farrer & Co | £88,000 |
| Forsters | £86,000 |
| Kennedys | £85,000 |
| Penningtons Manches Cooper | £83,000 |
| Howard Kennedy | £82,000 |
| TLT | £82,000 |
| Lewis Silkin | £81,000 |
| Hill Dickinson | £80,300 |
| Clyde & Co | £80,000 |
| Harbottle & Lewis | £80,000 |
| Trowers & Hamlins | £80,000 |
| Womble Bond Dickinson | £80,000 |
| Gateley | £79,000 |
| Wiggin | £79,000 |
| Payne Hicks Beach | £78,000 |
| Wedlake Bell | £78,000 |
| Irwin Mitchell | £76,000 |
| Bates Wells | £73,000 |
| Burges Salmon | £72,000 |
| Kingsley Napley | £72,000 |
| Michelmores | £72,000 |
| Weightmans | £70,000 |
| Winckworth Sherwood | £70,000 |
| Birketts | £65,000 |
| Stevens & Bolton | £65,000 |
| RWK Goodman | £62,000 |
| Walker Morris | £61,000 |
| Ashfords | £60,000 |
| Foot Anstey | £60,000 |
| Mills & Reeve | £60,000 |
| Cripps | £58,000 |
| Brabners | £50,000 |
| Moore Barlow | £47,000 |
| Fletchers | £36,750 |
| Express Solicitors | £36,000 |
| Accutrainee | Not applicable |
| Addleshaw Goddard | Undisclosed |
| Bevan Brittan | Undisclosed |
| DAC Beachcroft | Undisclosed |
| DWF Group | Undisclosed |
| Greenberg Traurig | Undisclosed |
| Haynes and Boone | Undisclosed |
| Morrison Foerster | Undisclosed |
| Russell-Cooke | Undisclosed |
| Shakespeare Martineau | Undisclosed |
*Law firm pays London-based newly qualified lawyers $225,000. GBP figure calculated via XE.com on 1 November 2024.
You can view all our salary data, including rates for trainees, on our 2025 Legal Cheek Firms Most List.
The post Revealed: What 100+ top law firms pay newly qualified solicitors — with some earning £180k straight from their TCs appeared first on Legal Cheek.