Linklaters Matches Magic Circle Rivals' NQ Rate
The rise means all Magic Circle firms will pay their NQs six-figure salaries when including bonuses
July 01, 2019 at 05:54 AM
2 minute read
Linklaters' newly qualified (NQ) associates will now take home a minimum of £100,000 a year, becoming the latest firm to up rates.
The firm has increased the pay package, which includes salary and discretionary bonus rates, to enable NQs to earn a minimum of £100,000, according to a firm spokesperson.
Linklaters is the last Magic Circle firm to up its rates, in line with its rivals.
In a statement, a spokesperson said: "Linklaters has increased the total cash payable to NQ lawyers to £100k, comprising a base salary plus a discretionary performance bonus, with top NQ performers receiving above this."
Last October, the firm boosted its base rate to £83,000 – the second rise in the year.
Earlier this month, Allen & Overy announced it will pay out a minimum of £100,000 a year to its NQ associates. Slaughter and May also increased salaries from its previous level of £83,000 to £92,000, which with a bonus will bring it to £100,000.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer upped its NQ pay by £15,000 in May, which was followed by Clifford Chance earlier this month.
Other firms have also ramped up NQ remuneration. Hogan Lovells bolstered its NQ salaries by 15% from £78,000 to £90,000. However, NQs at the firm are also eligible for performance-related bonuses of up to 30%, giving a potential total compensation of up to £117,000.
This year's pay race began in February, when Ropes & Gray announced a salary hike of 4% for its U.K. associates, totalling £120,000 plus bonus. The firm's previous first-year associate basic rate was £115,000.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
X Ordered to Release Data by German Court Amid Election Interference Concerns
Quinn Emanuel's Hamburg Managing Partner and Four-Lawyer Team Jump to Willkie Farr
Trump ICC Sanctions Condemned as ‘Brazen Attack’ on International Law
U.S.- China Trade War: Lawyers Label WTO Dispute Pointless, Clients Have Their Hands Tied
Trending Stories
- 1Investor Sues in New York to Block $175M Bitcoin Merger
- 2Landlord Must Pay Prevailing Tenants' $21K Attorney Fees in Commercial Lease Dispute, Appellate Court Rules
- 3Compliance with EU AI Act Lags Behind As First Provisions Take Effect
- 4NJ's Pardons and Commutations A Model for the Federal System
- 5As Political Retribution Intensifies, Look to Navalny's Lawyers
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
