Tales of rocketing junior lawyer pay have been rife in London for the past two years as the US firms throw cash around like Hershey’s bars.
There are now signs that the Americans’ largesse is not just irritating English rivals in the Square Mile, but also affecting places that the managing partners of the top US firms have never heard of — such as Bristol, Birmingham and Leeds.
But first a recap of the position in the City. At the top of the pay league table for newly qualified lawyers is Gibson Dunn, a firm rooted in Los Angeles. It is reported to cough up starting salaries of £180,000, having overtaken Akin from Washington DC, which is understood to be paying its freshly minted solicitors
