Macfarlanes has boosted its salary for newly qualified (NQ) lawyers, as the associate pay war continues to heat up in the City.

From September, pay for NQs at the City firm will now range from £98,600 to £110,250, which comprises an improved base salary of £85,000 in addition to individual and firm-wide bonuses.

The previous NQ base rate at Macfarlanes was £80,000.

The firm said in a statement: "Over 98% of fee-earners qualified for individual bonuses this year, which are based on contribution, not chargeable hours, and with no minimum level of hours required to receive a bonus. The firm-wide bonus is based on financial performance, is paid to all staff and is uncapped."

Macfarlanes' announcement comes amid an NQ pay war among the U.K's top firms, including all of the Magic Circle. Freshfields fired the starting pistol for the increases in May, bolstering NQ pay to £100,000, with Linklaters becoming the last of the Magic Circle firms to match that rate earlier today (July 1).

Other firms to have increased pay include Hogan Lovells, where pay can now reach £117,000 for NQs, and Pinsent Masons which raised pay by £2,500 for NQs, from £70,000 to £72,500.

Macfarlanes' announcement comes alongside the release of its trainee retention figures, with the firm keeping on all 25 of its trainees set to qualify this September.