Hogan Lovells hikes NQ pay by 5% in latest round of City increases

Hogan Lovells hikes NQ pay by 5% in latest round of City increases

Hogan Lovells’ UK newly-qualified (NQ) lawyers pay has risen 5%, as the firm increases junior associates’ salaries.

NQ pay jumped £3,500 to £71,500, while first year trainees’ salaries rose by £1,000 to £44,000. Second year trainees have also received a £1,000 increase to £49,000.

The changes came into effect on 1 May.

Lawyers with one year’s post-qualification experience (PQE) at Hogan Lovells have their pay determined by a merit based pay model with broad salary bands.

A firm spokesperson told Legal Business the mechanism ‘ensure[s] that we are able to take into account an individual’s performance when determining salary within the relevant salary band.’

‘In addition, our lawyers have the ability to earn significant bonuses based on chargeable hours and/or a discretionary bonus.’

Earlier this month, White & Case announced its London associates would receive a significant pay increase, with the US firm awarding its NQs a £15,000 pay hike to £105,000 for 2017.

White & Case lawyers with one year-PQE received a 16% raise from £95,000 to £110,000, while two year-PQE salaries increased by the largest percentage, up 19% to £120,000.

Shearman & Sterling were the first to announce UK pay increases this year. Shearman’s NQ pay rose by 10.5% from £95,000 to £105,000, with mid-level associates receiving a 9.5% bump in their pay from £126,000 to £138,000. The start of its senior associate salary band has risen by 5.6% to £165,000, from last year’s £156,000.

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This article first appeared on The Lex 100‘s sister publication, Legal Business.