The combined salaries of the four most senior lawyers at the Government Legal Department (GLD) is lower than the equivalent figure for four newly qualified (NQ) London associates at top US law firms.

Between them, Government Legal Service head Jonathan Jones, GLD director generals Stephen Braviner Roman and Claire Johnston and Home Office legal adviser Peter Fish were paid £545,000 in 2017-18 – about £35,000 less than four times the market rate of £145,000 for City NQs at leading US firms.

The latest market standard for US law firm associates was set by Cravath Swaine & Moore last month, with NQs – including those in their London offices – now paid $190,000, equating to about £145,000, depending on the exchange rate used.

The rates, which were subsequently matched by most other leading US firms – as well as the US offices of the magic circle – were accompanied by summer bonuses of between $5,000 and $25,000.

Treasury solicitor Jones is the only one of the four top GLD lawyers who is paid more than an NQ at a US firm, receiving between £160,000 and £165,000 during 2017-18, as well as an additional performance bonus of £15,000-£20,000.

He has held the role since 2014, when he joined what was then the Treasury Solicitor's Department, before which he was director general of the Home Office Legal Adviser's Branch. He is also a barrister and a bencher of Middle Temple.

Home Office legal adviser and director general Fish earned the second-highest wage of the top GLD quartet, receiving between £125,000 and £130,000, a £5,000 increase on 2016-17. He did not receive a bonus, having been handed a £15,000-£20,000 performance reward in 2016-17.

Fish, a former partner at Dentons predecessor firm Wilde Sapte, provides legal advice to Home Office ministers and officials, as well as working with Jones on cases in domestic courts, the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights.

GLD director generals Braviner Roman and Johnston both earned between £120,000 and £125,000, as well as receiving a £15,000 to £20,000 bonus. Johnston has spent her entire career in government legal roles and leads on advice to the Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, Department for Education and the Ministry of Defence. Braviner Roman chairs the GLD's performance and client committee.

Commenting on the rates, a GLD spokesperson said: "To maintain our high-quality service we need to offer competitive salaries to attract, retain and motivate suitably able and qualified people. Our staff are paid in line with Civil Service pay guidance, and some of our top-performing employees are rewarded for their exceptional contribution through bonus payments. We operate within our departmental budget and plan our spending accordingly."

The salaries of the GLD's top lawyers are also lower than that paid to the director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the regulator's latest accounts have today (24 July) revealed.

Sir David Green QC, who stepped down from the SFO in April this year after six years as director, was paid between £240,000 and £245,000 in his final year. His was pay frozen year on year, while SFO general counsel Alun Milford saw his pay cut by £20,000 to £180,000-£185,000.

Chief operating officer Mark Thompson, who is currently serving as interim director before new director Lisa Osofsky takes up the post in September, saw his pay increased by £5,000 to £215,000 to £220,000.

Total legal spend at the enforcement agency rose by £2m last year, from £9.3m to £11.3m.