London: Quinn Emanuel raises NQ salaries to £180,000

The new sum marks an increase of £30,000 as the firm seeks to tempt lawyers from its Magic Circle rivals.

The move makes the Los Angeles-headquartered firm the joint highest paying law firm in the UK – along with Gibson Dunn, another US practice.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer raised its pay for new lawyers from £125,000 to £150,000 last week. The rest of the Magic Circle firms pay new associates £125,000.

Alex Gerbi, Quinn Emanuel’s London co-managing partner, said the firm was “very pleased” to reward its lawyers “for the contribution they make daily to the success of our practice in London”.

He said: “We are also committed to continuing to attract the very best new talent as we pursue our strategy for further growth.”

Mr Gerbi added: “We believe there is no better home than our firm for the brightest and best disputes lawyers, and this decision aligns our salaries with the opportunities we offer them.”

Salaries have been rising consistently in recent years as UK-headquartered firms bring in incentives to deter lawyers from defecting to rivals.

Freshfields has previously given its private equity lawyers bonuses of £50,000 and Slaughter and May said last year that it would let lawyers cut their working hours by up to one fifth to save on costs.