Shearman & Sterling has announced that it is increasing pay for newly qualified (NQ) UK associates by 10.5% from £95,000 to £105,000.

Lawyers in the firm's mid-level associate band, which starts at 3.5 years post-qualification experience (PQE) will see a 9.5% pay increase from £126,000 to £138,000.

Meanwhile, UK senior associates at 6.5 years PQE and above will see their salaries increase by almost 6% to £165,000.

Shearman London managing partner Nick Buckworth said: "We are committed to attracting and retaining the best of the brightest associates. Our salary rate increase is an acknowledgment of the hard work and commitment of our talented associates and recognises their ongoing contributions to the firm's success."

Last year Shearman's revenue rose by 6% to $912.5m (£731m), with London revenues increasing by 14% to $169.7m (£136m). Firmwide profits per equity partner shot up 18% to $2.165m (£1.74m).

The news comes after a raft of US firms hiked associate pay scales last summer. The moves were kicked off by Cravath Swaine & Moore, which raised base pay for its first-year lawyers base by $20,000 (£14,000) to $180,000 (£124,000), with a host of firms following suit.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer boosted the salaries of its US associates to match the increase, setting out an increased pay scale that culminates in an annual pay cheque of $325,000 (£225,000) for associates that started in 2007 and earlier.