I very much enjoy the variation, both in the type of work and the subject matter, and I like being able to work on my own and decide when I work.

Clifford Chance and A&O Shearman become the latest magic circle law firms to increase pay for newly qualified (NQ) solicitors to £150,000, after their counterparts announced similar moves in recent weeks. 

The newly qualified (NQ) solicitor ‘pay war’ continues as Linklaters LLP and Allen & Overy LLP each increase NQ lawyer salaries to £125,000 to match magic circle counterparts Clifford Chance and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP has announced that its newly qualified solicitor pay will rise to £150,000, as the battle for legal talent in London continues. 

The five ‘magic circle’ firms have revealed their partner promotions for 2019, with women making up just 29% of this year’s promotions.

Freshfields and Slaughter and May have published their pay gap reports for the year, joining fellow magic circle firm Clifford Chance, which released its pay gap information last week.

Two magic circle firms have broken ranks with their peers to include partners in their gender pay gap reporting.

Magic circle law firms are taking different approaches to their trainees’ Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) exam results, following the recent round of results released for those who took the SQE1 assessment in January.

Magic circle law firm Clifford Chance has announced plans to monitor employee office attendance.

Slaughter and May is “delighted” to have partnered with the 93% Club, Boston Consulting Group, Ernst & Young and JLL to create a new professional network – 93% Professionals – designed to provide a supportive community for state-educated people and address the critical gap in the journey from education to a top career. 

Clifford Chance has launched a training contract for UK law graduates in Poland with candidates due to start on the training programme in 2023. 

Clifford Chance has launched a new range of diversity and inclusion targets around gender, ethnicity and LGBT+.

From Macfarlanes’ vacation scheme through to the various social mobility programmes on offer at the firm, Isabella Strafford-Antonio outlines the work Macfarlanes is doing to improve access to the profession. Find out how you can get involved with these schemes in this Meet the Recruiter. 

Macfarlanes has become the third firm to adopt a "CV-blind" policy to combat unconscious bias and elitism in its recruitment.

David Edmonds, chair of the Legal Services Board, has confirmed that the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has satisfied the criteria to become an approved regulator of alternative business structures.

“Can I still qualify as a solicitor via the Legal Practice Course (LPC) even though the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) is now the new pathway into the profession?” This is a question that is becoming increasingly more familiar as many aspiring lawyers consider their next step towards qualification.

“Can I still qualify as a solicitor via the Legal Practice Course (LPC) even though the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) is now the new pathway into the profession?” This is a question that’s becoming increasingly more familiar as many aspiring lawyers consider their next step towards qualification.

Magic circle firms Linklaters and Slaughter and May have increased their Legal Practice Course maintenance grants for future trainees.