Ashurst has announced that it will increase remuneration for its newly qualified (NQ) associates to up to £105,000, after previously raising pay to £96,600.

Ashurst's NQ solicitors will take home up to £105,000, which comprises both base pay and bonuses.

The move comes after a rise in May, when the firm raised its NQ base pay to £84,000, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, with NQs able to take home a total compensation package of £96,600 including a bonus.

Base pay will remain at £84,000.

Last October, the firm had reviewed its NQ pay and increased salaries by 8% from £76,000 to £82,000, with associates able to take home up to £94,300 with bonuses included. The changes came into effect at the beginning of November.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was the first U.K. firm to announce an increase in its NQ pay packet, in May, bumping up total compensation to £100,000, with lawyers eligible for a discretionary bonus on top. The rest of the Magic Circle followed suit, with Linklaters the last to join the race.

Linklaters' managing partner Gideon Moore told Legal Week that while the firm was initially reluctant to follow its rivals' actions, it eventually did because what the firm "couldn't do was give ourselves and the talent who join a reason not to prioritise us over our immediate competitors".

Other firms to have recently raised NQ pay include Simmons & Simmons, Stephenson Harwood, Macfarlanes, Travers Smith and Pinsent Masons.