NY Firm Raises Pay, Unfreezes Lockstep for London Associates

LONDON - Weil Gotshal & Manges has lifted last year's salary freeze for associates in the US firm's London office.

The firm has restarted progression through the lockstep pay bands, and has increased the levels of the bands by 4%. Newly-qualified pay has also been increased, and now stands at £90,000, up from last year's figure of £85,000.

This figure is the same rate that the firm offered in 2008, although the majority of salary bands still remain slightly below 2008 levels.

Last July, Weil dropped the starting salary of newly-qualified lawyers in its London base by 5.5% to £85,000.

Salaries for all associates were frozen, meaning a one-year qualified lawyer remained on £90,000, while second-year lawyers were paid between £90,000 and £98,000.

Weil remains one of the most generous firms in the City, offering its newly-qualified lawyers approximately £25,000 more than the current benchmark rate for top London firms.

Last year the majority of City firms froze both pay band levels and associates' progression through the bands.

Earlier this year Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy, Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters all announced that they will unfreeze associate pay in the coming financial year, with associates set to move through the pay bands as normal.