Snakes and ladders: Magic Circle tweaks lockstep but is it enough to hold off US firms?

Madeleine Farman reports on recent remuneration changes among the City elite

With the growing threat of losing star partners to aggressively-expanding US firms, the Magic Circle’s traditional remuneration models have come increasingly under pressure. Last month Linklaters voted through changes to its remuneration model, while at press time Clifford Chance (CC) was due to complete a review of where partners should sit on its lockstep in a bid to retain key contributors and manage under-performers, 18 months after voting through the last set of changes.