David von Dadelszen’s Post

Clifford Chance have just matched Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's and Linklaters' GBP£150,000 for NQ lawyers. Paul Hodkinson of Law.com International asks "Is there a maximum number in this salary race?": "The gap between the leading U.S. firms and everyone else has been growing for some time. When law firm leaders talk about the emergence of a global elite—a breakaway group of the top international law firms—they almost always include themselves in the group, regardless of who they are. They talk about the quality of their lawyers and their geographical reach. But it seems to me that the law firms paying the highest junior lawyer salaries would be the most logical group to consider as global elite contenders given they can already afford to pay so much and they will no doubt be attracting the best young lawyers. ... It is apt then that the salary differentials between firms are widening, suggesting some will struggle to keep up. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer wants to be on a higher level than its U.K. peers so upped its rates to a quasi-mid-Atlantic rate. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan didn’t like being on the same level as Freshfields so bumped its own salaries to Cravath levels. When the time comes for the likes of Milbank to announce their own rates towards the end of the year, you can be sure they will try to out-do their rivals. And then we will no doubt see the likes of Cravath and Davis Polk & Wardwell announce an even higher level, which everyone rushes to match. #SalaryWars #BigLaw #JamesonLegal https://lnkd.in/eqrj9_2X

Is There a Maximum Number in This Salary Race? | Law.com International

Is There a Maximum Number in This Salary Race? | Law.com International

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Paula McMullan

The Career Success Coach for Lawyers at a Crossroads | Top 20 Coach in London | Helping you find your purpose, define your career strategy & create a step-by-step plan to make it happen

6mo

Makes my starting salary of £27,500 look positively Stone Age!! White & Case NQs were on £42K at the time..... And partners were saying, "It won't last....." Makes you wonder what else partners are wrong about 🤔

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