New York's Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has emerged as the best-paying employer for junior lawyers in Italy, according to new research that shows US entrants putting significant pressure on local rivals to raise their salaries.

The €75,000 (£51,000) offered by the US-based firm is nearly double that paid by many of its rivals, including local leaders Bonelli Erede Pappalardo and Chiomenti and top London firms Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance.

The findings, from research by Italian magazine TopLegal, show that starting salaries at commercial firms in Italy typically fall between €20,000 (£13,500) and €40,000 (£27,000), with rates hitting around €140,000 (£94,000) for senior associates.

Cleary is one of a group of firms to offer the highest salaries for senior associates, along with Dewey Ballantine, Chiomenti and Norton Rose. Local partners say associates are also usually rewarded with a bonus worth 10%-20% of their basic salary.

This year has seen associate salaries put under the microscope in some of the major European jurisdictions.

Germany has seen significant rises over the summer with firms including local leaders Hengeler Mueller and Gleiss Lutz and US practice Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy announcing substantial increases to their salaries. Some firms are paying as much as €100,000 (£67,000) plus a substantial bonus for newly-qualified lawyers. Newly-qualified associates in London can expect a fixed salary of around £55,000 at leading UK firms, while some Wall Street firms in London pay as much as £82,000.

Carnelutti managing partner Luca Arnaboldi commented: "When the US and UK firms arrived in the 1990s, they offered higher associate salaries compared with those then granted by local firms, but now salaries are far more equal. This year, the market has been stable, so there have generally been moderate rises."