Norton Rose Fulbright and Akin Gump hand out pay rises

Norton Rose Fulbright has raised its salaries for trainees.

First years will now be paid £44,000, up 5 per cent from £42,000, while second years will take home £48,000, up 2 per cent from £47,000.

Newly-qualified solicitors, meanwhile, will receive £75,000, up 4 per cent from £72,000.

Meanwhile, US firm Akin Gump will increase its London trainee salary to £48,000 for first years – up from £43,000 – and £52,000 for second-years, as of September 2017.

The firm said its NQ pay “will not be changing at this time and remains at $180,000, until the firm chooses to review associate/NQ salaries.”

Victoria Widdows, the firm’s director of international legal recruiting and development, said: “Akin Gump trainees quickly become an integral part of the London office and we want to ensure that salaries are reflective of this at the top end of the market, as is the case with our NQ salaries.”

Travers Smith has also raised salaries. Trainees will now take home £43,500 in their first year, up 2 per cent from £42,500. Second years will get £49,000, up 4 per cent from £47,000, while NQs lawyers get a 5 per cent boost from £71,500 to £75,000.

1 PQE associates will get £82,000 (up from £79,000), 2PQEs will get £92,000 (up from £91,000) and 3PQEs £102,000 (up from £100,000).