Bonuses and salaries are on the increase across the U.K.

Reed Smith London lawyers who bill more than 2,000 hours will be in line for bonuses of up to £60,000, according to new measures unveiled by the firm.

Junior associates who top 2,000 billable hours in a year can now pick up a £25,000 annual bonus, while mid-level associates can pick up £40,000 and senior associates £60,000.

Previously the firm offered junior lawyers bonuses of £7,500, mid-level associates £10,650 and senior associates £14,500 if they billed 1,650 hours. That minimum hours target has now risen to 1,700 and the lower level bonus for junior lawyers hitting that amount has risen to £8,500. For mid-level associates it has gone up to £12,750 and for senior associates it is now £16,500.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Reed Smith said that the move was intended to allow the firm to "remain competitive with the market and to enable us to continue to attract and retain the top talent that is a hallmark of the firm".

The spokesperson added that the billable hours rise was "to reflect the high performance we are getting and rewarding from our talent".

The bonus package change coincides with salary increases at the firm. It has increased its salaries for newly-qualified and first year associates to between £90,000 and £100,000, while those between two and six years post-qualification can take home between £95,000 and £125,000.

Senior associates those beyond six years post-qualification, can take home more than £110,000. The changes were first reported by Roll On Friday.

''The changes allow us to continue to invest in talent at all levels," they added.

The changes follow a range of salary increases for junior lawyers across the U.K. commercial legal industry over the last year, which has proved unpopular among some law firm leaders.

Earlier this month, Slaughter and May announced that it was raising its associate salaries by between 2.2% and 8.2% for those with of two and a half years' post-qualification experience and beyond. In the summer, the firm had raised its NQ salaries to at least £92,000, and up to £100,000 a year including a bonus, as part of a market-wide NQ pay war.