Will trainee salaries increase?

[whawha]

With NQ salaries at US and MC firms rising, will trainees see a salary increase any time soon?

Market leaders in terms of trainee salaries are £55k and £60k. Whilst the norm for US salaries is £50k and then £55k.

Now that US firms have increased NQ salaries up to £145k-£150k, it would make sense for trainee salaries to increase. Many trainee salaries have not risen since around 2018.

GDL/LPC grants have also stagnated around the £10k mark, whilst the cost of living has risen.

 

[Kubed]

Is there any driver for trainee salaries to increase massively though? I think demand for jobs tends to outstrip supply at the trainee level, whereas at associate level it seems to be that firms are raising salaries in response to US firms poaching associates. There doesn't seem to be same level of disparity of salary at trainee level (between a 5%-10% difference between the leaders and average, whereas at NQ level, the gap significantly widens).

This is just how I see it and my analysis could be completely off here!

 

[Jessica Booker]

With NQ salaries at US and MC firms rising, will trainees see a salary increase any time soon?

Market leaders in terms of trainee salaries are £55k and £60k. Whilst the norm for US salaries is £50k and then £55k.

Now that US firms have increased NQ salaries up to £145k-£150k, it would make sense for trainee salaries to increase. Many trainee salaries have not risen since around 2018.

GDL/LPC grants have also stagnated around the £10k mark, whilst the cost of living has risen.

Personally I don’t see things changing much, especially with the SQE coming in. Many firms will wait to see how that impacts both maintenance grants, trainee numbers and qualification rates.

 

[Kola]

With NQ salaries at US and MC firms rising, will trainees see a salary increase any time soon?

Market leaders in terms of trainee salaries are £55k and £60k. Whilst the norm for US salaries is £50k and then £55k.

Now that US firms have increased NQ salaries up to £145k-£150k, it would make sense for trainee salaries to increase. Many trainee salaries have not risen since around 2018.

GDL/LPC grants have also stagnated around the £10k mark, whilst the cost of living has risen.

NQ rates have risen because there has been an explosive demand for associates in the US. Firms are poaching 1PQE+ lawyers across American left, right and centre, leading to insanely high 1PQE salaries, with even more insane sign-on and retention bonus' (rumoured to be exceeding $750k and $200k respectively). Since some US firms peg their London rates to the dollar, London lawyers, by default, are earning more because of salary increases across the pond (which is not to imply that salaries in London would not have increased otherwise - US firms have been hiring in London like crazy as well). These increases, in turn, forced British firms to also raise their rates (with MC firms paying £100k+ now and SC firms paying circa. £80k-£100k. Basically, NQ rates have increased in London for specific reasons (more than I have listed). For trainee salaries to increase, there would have to actually be a catalyst and I'm afraid that marginal cost of living increases and very short term 'stagnation' (if you can even call it that) wont cut it. I would be very surprised if trainee salaries increased - but who knows.

 

[whawha]

Davis Polk have signalled a rise in Trainee pay. With first year trainees on £57,500 and second year trainees on £62,500