CC, BLP and Olswang play it safe with modest salary rises
Clifford Chance (CC), Allen & Overy (A&O) and Olswang have joined the ranks of firms announcing associate salary rates for 2008, with all three avoiding significant rises. A&O last week became the first magic circle law firm to reveal it was holding salary bands at 2007 levels, with the firm announcing it had frozen associate salaries for 2008. The move is in line with Herbert Smith's decision in April to hold its rates at 2007 levels.
May 15, 2008 at 01:53 AM
2 minute read
Clifford Chance (CC), Allen & Overy (A&O) and Olswang have joined the ranks of firms announcing associate salary rates for 2008, with all three avoiding significant rises.
A&O last week became the first magic circle law firm to reveal it was holding salary bands at 2007 levels, with the firm announcing it had frozen associate salaries for 2008. The move is in line with Herbert Smith's decision in April to hold its rates at 2007 levels.
In contrast, CC, which previously lagged behind A&O, has announced increases of just over 4% – putting it broadly in line with rivals Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
The decision means newly-qualified (NQ) lawyers at CC will earn £66,600, up from £63,500, while lawyers with one year's post-qualification experience (PQE) will earn £68,700. Lawyers at A&O currently bank £65,000, while associates with one year's PQE will continue to take home £71,500.
Berwin Leighton Paisner is set to announce one of the largest increases of any firm so far this year, with rises of between 4% and 6%. Associates with one year's PQE will see the biggest rise, with a 6% increase in base pay to a new mark of £70,000 – above CC.
Rates for lawyers with two years' PQE rise by 4% from £72,000 to £75,000. Salaries for the firm's newly-qualified lawyers and trainees are set to be adjusted next month.
Olswang, meanwhile, has frozen rates for its NQs at £62,000, while more senior lawyers receive modest rises. One year's PQE lawyers see a 1.5% increase to a minimum of £66,000 while the base rate for associates with two years' PQE rises to £75,000.
One senior recruiter said: "In general people are keeping rises to a minimum and we are not seeing anyone other than the firms that were lagging the market, such as Shearman & Sterling, making significant changes. It is not so much being driven by inflation as some firms being forced to wake up and smell the coffee and close the gaps where they had a disparity in rates."
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