Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s move to hike newly qualified lawyers’ pay 20% to £150,000 has reignited a salary war for juniors that many thought was long-won by high-paying US law firms.
Freshfields has been keen to ditch its ‘Magic Circle’ tag — the big five elite UK law firms typically follow each other with junior pay rises. But its move to hike salaries to an unprecedented £150,000 has put other London firms on the back foot.
