Exclusive: Increase of more than 30%
International outfit Hogan Lovells has confirmed legal cheek which pays its Newly Qualified (NQ) Solicitors in Birmingham now stands at £70,000.
The £53,000 increase equates to an additional £17,000, or 32%. Trainee pay currently sits at £32,000 in year one, rising to £35,000 in year two.
But the company only offers a handful of training contracts in Birmingham, with the vast majority of its roughly 50 trainees based in London each year. They earn £50,000 in year one and £55,000 in year two, and £107,500 when qualifying.
The 2022 legal cheek List of the most
The announcement follows a series of regional raises over the past few months, which began with DLA Piper announcing a pay rise to £65,000 for its regional recruits in February. Several companies have made their own decisions, including a raise to £61,000 at Pinsent Masons, a raise to £65,000 at Squire Patton Boggs and, most recently, Shoosmiths, which moved NQ’s salary to £58,000 in most from its regional offices.
Regional increases: who has increased so far?
| Solidify | Remuneration of trainees (1st year) | Remuneration of trainees (2nd year) | NQ Base Rate |
| Addleshaw Goddard | Leeds and Manchester: £29,500; Scotland: £25,000 | Leeds and Manchester: £32,000; Scotland: £28,000 | Leeds and Manchester: £62,000; Scotland: £56,000 |
| BCLP | Manchester: £30,000 | Manchester: £35,000 | Manchester: £51,000 |
| CMS | Bristol: £41,500; Manchester and Sheffield: £30,000; Edinburgh and Glasgow: £26,775 | Bristol: £42,525; Manchester and Sheffield: £33,075; Edinburgh and Glasgow: £29,925 | Bristol: £61,000; Manchester and Sheffield: £51,750; Edinburgh and Glasgow: £51,750 |
| Piper DLA | All regional offices: £30,000 | All regional offices: £33,000 | All regional offices: £65,000 |
| Evershed Sutherland | All regional offices: £28,500 | All regional offices: £31,000 | All regional offices: £62,000 |
| Hogan Lovells | Birmingham: £32,000 | Birmingham: £35,000 | Birmingham: £70,000 |
| Gowling WLG | Birmingham: £29,000 | Birmingham: £32,000 | Birmingham: £52,000 |
| Pinsent Masons | All regional offices: £27,000 | All regional offices: £30,000 | All regional offices: £61,000 |
| PRC | Bristol: £35,000 | Bristol: £36,000 | Bristol: £56,000 |
| Shoosmiths | Regions: £28,500; Edinburgh: £26,500 | Regions: £29,500; Edinburgh: £27,500 | Regions: £58,000; Scotland: £54,500; Thames Valley: £63,800 |
| Simmons & Simmons | Bristol: £40,500 | Bristol: £42,500 | Bristol: £68,000 |
| Squire Patton Boggs | All regional offices: £30,000 | All regional offices: £33,000 | All regional offices: £65,000 |
| Trowers & Hamlins | All regional offices: £30,000 | All regional offices: £32,000 | All regional offices: £50,000 |
