Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has confirmed marginal increases in its associate pay bands for 2011, opting for rises of between 2% and 2.6% for junior lawyers.

Pay for newly-qualified (NQ) lawyers moves from £60,000 to £61,500, while pay for those with one year's post-qualification experience (PQE) goes up from £68,000 to £69,500.

Pay for two-year PQE lawyers moves from £75,000 to £77,000, while three-year PQE salaries move to £88,000 from £86,000 last year. All of the changes, which are effective from 1 May, equate to increases of between 2% and 2.6% on the previous salary ranges, with associates also progressing through the bands as normal.

Trainee salaries remain unchanged at £39,000 and £44,000 for the first and second year respectively.

Freshfields London management group chair, Tim Jones (pictured), said: "We think these salary increases are fair and that our associates deserve them."

Freshfields launched a new associate career framework in the City last month, with bonuses, which will be paid in June, to be measured against the scheme for the first time this year.

The new framework, the first step in Freshfields' move away from associate lockstep, will see junior lawyers assessed against the firm's 'milestone' criteria, with bonuses based on the category they are placed in. The firm is considering basing associate pay on the new criteria as early as next year.

Both Allen & Overy and Linklaters' announced last week that they will be freezing associate pay for the coming year, although lawyers will continue to progress through the bands as usual.

Meanwhile, Slaughter and May marginally increased its associate salaries as of this month, opting for modest increases of between 1.5% and 3% for junior associates, while rates for trainees and NQs remain unchanged.

Magic circle pay comparison

Firm                    NQ            1PQE           2PQE              3PQE         

Allen & Overy  £61,000     £68,000      £74,000         £85,000
Freshfields     £61,500     £69,500      £77,000         £88,000
Linklaters        £61,500     £68,000      £73,000         £85,000
Slaughters      £61,500     £69,000      £76,000         £86,000