[Germany] Associate salaries at Clifford Chance bumped by €20k

International law firm Clifford Chance has increased salaries for its newly-qualified associates in Germany by €20,000, the figure now surpasses that of the firm’s UK associates, Law.com reports.

Associates based in Clifford Chance’s Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich offices will take home €140,000 from November, equating to around £119,000 and up from a previous figure of €120,000, a spokesperson for the firm confirmed on October 8.

Second-year associates will reportedly take home €145,000, after which pay jumps by between €5,000 and €10,000 for more senior associates until it reaches €175,000 for seventh-year associates, who were previously paid €165,000.

Meanwhile, pay for counsel in the firm’s German offices has also been boosted by €20,000 to reach €170,000. The news was first reported by Juve.

Clifford Chance runs annual pay reviews for the firm’s separate operational regions at different points in the year. The firm’s UK review is set to take place later in the financial year, one person at the firm said. The firm has yet to announce changes to its UK associate salaries.

The pay increase in Germany follows on the heels of Magic Circle rival Linklaters increasing its base NQ pay, a few weeks prior, from £100,000 to £107,500, excluding a discretionary bonus. Clifford Chance currently pays its UK associates a base salary of £100,000, in line with fellow elite rivals Allen & Overy, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Slaughter and May.

Associate pay wars are a longstanding feature of the US and UK legal markets, which fiercely compete to top the NQ salaries rankings and regularly raise pay in line with their competitors.

However, some partners in the German market recently downplayed the importance of pay wars in the country, saying that associates are more concerned with work-life balance than pay increases at present; they are currently overloaded with work.

Source: Law.com

(Link via original reporting)

International law firm Clifford Chance has increased salaries for its newly-qualified associates in Germany by €20,000, the figure now surpasses that of the firm’s UK associates, Law.com reports.

Associates based in Clifford Chance’s Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich offices will take home €140,000 from November, equating to around £119,000 and up from a previous figure of €120,000, a spokesperson for the firm confirmed on October 8.

Second-year associates will reportedly take home €145,000, after which pay jumps by between €5,000 and €10,000 for more senior associates until it reaches €175,000 for seventh-year associates, who were previously paid €165,000.

Meanwhile, pay for counsel in the firm’s German offices has also been boosted by €20,000 to reach €170,000. The news was first reported by Juve.

Clifford Chance runs annual pay reviews for the firm’s separate operational regions at different points in the year. The firm’s UK review is set to take place later in the financial year, one person at the firm said. The firm has yet to announce changes to its UK associate salaries.

The pay increase in Germany follows on the heels of Magic Circle rival Linklaters increasing its base NQ pay, a few weeks prior, from £100,000 to £107,500, excluding a discretionary bonus. Clifford Chance currently pays its UK associates a base salary of £100,000, in line with fellow elite rivals Allen & Overy, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Slaughter and May.

Associate pay wars are a longstanding feature of the US and UK legal markets, which fiercely compete to top the NQ salaries rankings and regularly raise pay in line with their competitors.

However, some partners in the German market recently downplayed the importance of pay wars in the country, saying that associates are more concerned with work-life balance than pay increases at present; they are currently overloaded with work.

Source: Law.com

(Link via original reporting)