Two of the biggest US firms in London are considering increasing their associate bonus payments for this year end in response to Allen & Overy's recent pay shake-up.

Weil Gotshal & Manges and Sidley Austin are reviewing their associate packages in the light of the reduction in the pay differential between the top US firms and their UK rivals.

Both firms, which pay mid-Atlantic rates of £75,000 and £72,000 respectively for newly-qualified solicitors, pay bonuses ranging from under 10%-40% of basic salary.

Weil Gotshal London head Mike Francies told Legal Week: "We have already put our salaries up by quite a lot this year in response to US firms. We are not going to look at them until July, but we might look at bonuses in December, as historically UK firms have not paid big bonuses."

One Sidley partner in London added: "We have historically been the villains in the UK market but moves like [A&O's rises] will require US firms like us to move the 'mid-Atlantic' rate."