Hogan Lovells has overtaken Slaughter and May, upping its base salary for newly qualified lawyers from £120,000 to £135,000.

The £15,000 uplift means the firm overtakes Slaughter and May, which has so far opted to keep its NQ pay at £125,000. This is in contrast to A&O Shearman, Clifford Chance, Linklaters, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, all of whom have in the past couple of months increased their NQ rates to £150,000 p/a.