Ashurst has boosted associate salaries after a review of its rates, with newly qualified (NQ) lawyer pay up 8% from £76,000 to £82,000.

NQ lawyers are also eligible for a performance-related bonus that could increase total compensation to £94,300.

For one-year-qualified lawyers, pay has gone up 7.5% from £80,000 to £86,000, again with a possible bonus that could increase total compensation to £98,900. For two-year-qualified lawyers, pay has risen 8% from £87,000 to £94,000, with the possible bonus pushing the total up to £117,500.

In a statement, London managing partner Simon Beddow said: "We had a very strong start to the financial year and this has continued through September. This, together with the desire to remain as competitive as possible, led us to undertake a review of salary."

The new rates will take effect from the 2018-19 half-year point on 1 November.

EMEA and US HR head Claire Townshend said in a statement: "Recognising and rewarding high performance is obviously critical to our business, which is also why we reviewed our bonus scheme earlier on in the year in order to ensure that all employees are included and, for fee-earners, for there to be a real focus on the wider role of the lawyer, not just chargeable hours."

The news comes after DLA Piper, Pinsent Masons, CMS, Macfarlanes, Hogan Lovells, Travers Smith and Stephenson Harwood all confirmed associate pay rises for NQ lawyers.

Ashurst's base NQ rate of £82,000 places it ahead of many other UK competitors, including Macfarlanes (£80,000), DLA Piper (£77,000), Stephenson Harwood (£73,000), Pinsents (£70,000) and CMS (£70,000).

Hogan Lovells recently announced it would increase NQ rates £75,000 to £78,000, while pay for junior lawyers at Travers Smith is rising from £75,000 to £78,500.