A handful of US firms have increased their salaries for first and second year trainees in London in recent months, putting their most junior lawyers even further ahead of their counterparts at UK-headquartered firms.
McDermott Will & Schulte, Milbank, Kirkland & Ellis, and Sullivan & Cromwell have all upped trainee salaries to £70,000 for first year trainees and £75,000 for second-years.
For Milbank, this reflects a £5,000 increase, as the firm previously paid first year trainees £65,000 and second years £70,000.
McDermott, Kirkland, and S&C, meanwhile, have all upped salaries by £10,000, with first and second-year trainees previously paid £60,000 and £65,000 respectively.
Earlier this year, Milbank increased its associate pay for the first time since 2023, with all associates at the firm now paid on a scale starting at $235,000. The trainee pay bump came at the same time.
McDermott was one of the first firms to match the increase, for its associates in the US and London. The increase took effect from 1 July, and the firm’s trainee pay increases are effective from the same date.
The latest changes put trainee salaries at US firms at nearly £15,000 higher than their magic circle counterparts, with Linklaters, Freshfields, Clifford Chance, Slaughter and May and A&O Shearman each paying first-year trainees £56,000, and second years £61,000.
The magic circle firms last increased their trainee salaries in 2024, from £50,000 and £56,000 for first and second-years respectively, with NQs paid £150,000.
