Weil Gotshal & Manges has increased pay for its first-year London trainees by £4,000 to hit £50,000, as firms continue to bump up salaries for those at the start of their careers.

The U.S. firm has also raised pay for second-year trainees to £55,000, up from £50,000, a spokesperson confirmed.

Other firms to have recently raised trainee pay include Magic Circle firms Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance. From September, CC will pay its first-year trainees £48,000, up from £46,600, while second-years will take home £54,000, up from £52,500.

A&O, meanwhile, bumped first-year trainee pay by £1,500 to £46,500 and second-years will now take home £52,500, an increase of £2,500.

The increase in pay comes after a series of salary rises among newly-qualified (NQ) lawyers in London, as U.K. firms seek to attract and retain junior talent.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer kicked off that pay war back in May by bumping pay for its NQs to £100,000, with the rest of the Magic Circle following Freshfields' lead to raise pay to the six-figure mark.

A raft of firms, including Hogan Lovells, Herbert Smith Freehills and Ashurst have also boosted pay.