All rise! Law firm raises junior barristers’ salary to £179,000 as BofE chief warns of huge pay jumps
- Junior salaries at Akin Gump’s London offices will rise by £15,000
- The pressure will now be on other US law firms to increase their own salaries
- The wage increase comes after Andrew Bailey warned companies against massive wage hikes
Newly qualified barristers at a high-flying firm in the city are expected to receive a 9 per cent pay rise – taking their annual salary to £179,000.
junior staff at Akin Gump, a US law firm London Offices, will add £15,000 to their already record-breaking pay packages.
British firm Allen & Overy also announced that its senior partners, who own an equity stake in the firm, have given themselves a 3 per cent pay rise – bringing their average earnings to £1.95million each.
Junior professionals at Akin Gump, a US law firm with offices in London, will add £15,000 to their already record-breaking salary packages
Akin Gump originally set the salaries of his newly qualified London lawyers, who are generally in their mid to late twenties, at £164,000 in April. But their wages are set in dollars.
Sterling has fallen in value since April and Akin Gump has now adjusted its conversion rate for London salaries to reflect this.
The pay rise comes after Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warned companies against huge pay rises.
Akin Gump’s internal memo announcing the raise was released by legal website Roll On Friday.
The pressure will now be on other US law firms – more than 100 of which have offices in London – to raise salaries to stay competitive and attract the best talent.
The pay rise comes after Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warned companies against huge pay rises
Companies headquartered in the UK tend to pay less than their US competitors. The most generous, Clifford Chance and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, pay their newly qualified solicitors £125,000.
Allen & Overy, another leading UK company, announced the pay rise of its equity partners in its financial results yesterday.
It said revenue for the year to April 2022 was up 10 per cent to £1.94 billion and profit up 9 per cent to £900m.
It attributed the strong results to record deals last year, as law firms rake in huge fees for advising companies looking to buy a competitor, sell themselves or merge with a competitor.
Customers also asked for help on how to meet “green” goals and become more digitally savvy.
Managing partner Gareth Price acknowledged the world was “stricken by high inflation” and said this was causing demand for its services to “slacken”.
But he made no reference to the company’s generous salary packages.
The fortunes of Britain’s leading corporate lawyers stand in stark contrast to those of criminal lawyers, many of whom rely on legal aid.
The Criminal Bar Association’s claims specialists are taking home just £12,200 a year in their first three years on the job after the legal aid system was cut, prompting lawyers to strike.
