Herbert Smith has opted not to increase associate pay bands for 2011-12, following recent salary freezes announced by City peers Linklaters and Allen & Overy.

The firm has chosen to hold junior salary bands at the same level as last year, with trainees receiving £38,000, newly-qualified lawyers taking home £61,000 and those with one year post-qualification experience (PQE) earning £68,000.

Two-year PQE lawyers will take home £73,000 and three-year PQE associates will remain on £85,000. The firm's associates will continue to move through the pay bands as normal.

The news marks the third consecutive year that pay levels for Herbert Smith's one and two-year PQE associates have remained unchanged, after the firm froze salaries in 2009 and then opted not to increase the two bands last year.

A Herbert Smith spokesman said: "While salary bands for associates up to 4.5 PQE won't increase, associates will nevertheless benefit from pay rises by rolling through the qualification bands.

"Associates with a PQE of five and above will increase according to performance and chargeable hours."

Bonuses at the firm will be paid out as normal. All decisions regarding pay are effective from 1 June.

The news comes after Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Slaughter and May bucked the trend at the top end of the UK top 50, confirming marginal increases in associate pay bands for 2011, with rises of between 2% and 2.6%, and 1.5% and 3% respectively.