Magic circle firms are reviewing their arrangements on shared parental leave after new legislation came into effect this week, with Linklaters becoming the first to go beyond its statutory obligations under the new rules.

From next April, up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay can be shared between both parents, but it is up to employers whether or not to offer enhanced maternity or paternity pay to all parents who take shared leave.

Linklaters is matching its current maternity package by offering six months on full pay, "subject to certain conditions", for all parents wanting to share leave.

If one parent wanted to take more than six months off, the rest of the time would be paid at the statutory minimum of £138.18 a week or 90% of an employee's average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.

A Slaughter and May spokesperson said that the firm "may consider some level of enhancement to statutory shared parental pay" as it undergoes a review its approach to the new legislation.

Allen & Overy is currently drafting its new shared parental leave policy, while Clifford Chance and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer are also considering their arrangements, with the latter set to communicate its updated policy to staff early in the new year.

In a Legal Week survey earlier this year, partners said they were fairly optimistic that the new rules would help firms retain female talent, though 42% of respondents thought that their firms were unlikely to, or definitely would not, offer enhanced compensation packages to male staff to match maternity pay packages.

Additionally, more than a quarter (27%) of partners polled anticipated there would be "very few" men at their own firms wanting to take up the option of shared leave.