How Much Will You Earn as a Solicitor? Complete Salary Guide 2026
Trainee and NQ salaries across 81 UK law firms in 2026, from Magic Circle to regional firms.
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Solicitor salaries in the UK vary more than almost any other graduate profession. Depending on where you got a training contract, you can earn more or less than other trainees across the country. A newly qualified solicitor at Quinn Emanuel takes home £189,000. At Burges Salmon, the same stage pays £76,000. Neither is wrong and they reflect entirely different business models, working cultures, and career paths.
This guide gives you the full picture: real salary data across 81 firms for trainees, newly qualified solicitors, and beyond, plus what the numbers actually mean for your career decisions.
NQ solicitor salaries 2026
The average NQ salary across 81 firms is £134,558.
What the tiers actually look like
The salary data breaks down cleanly into tiers. Understanding why each tier pays what it pays is more useful than just knowing the numbers. For a comparison of solicitor and barrister earnings at every career stage, see our barrister vs solicitor guide.
US firms: £165,000 to £189,000 NQ
The top payers are almost exclusively US firms. Quinn Emanuel leads the market at £189,000, followed by Davis Polk, Gibson Dunn, Paul Weiss and Willkie Farr at £180,000, Simpson Thacher at £178,000, and Skadden and Sullivan & Cromwell at £177,000. These firms run lean associate models, charge exceptionally high hourly rates, and concentrate work in corporate and finance. The pay reflects the business model. Hours are typically longer, matters are fewer but larger, and the expectation from day one is that you operate at close to full capacity.
Magic Circle: £150,000 NQ
All five Magic Circle firms (A&O Shearman, Clifford Chance, Freshfields, Linklaters, and Slaughter and May) pay £150,000 at NQ. This has historically been the benchmark for elite UK commercial firms. The gap between Magic Circle and the top US firms has widened significantly over the past five years, from negligible to around £25,000 to £39,000 at NQ.
Silver Circle and large international firms: £140,000 to £150,000 NQ
Firms like Ashurst, Hogan Lovells, Norton Rose Fulbright, DLA Piper and Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer sit in this band, and Macfarlanes, Baker McKenzie and Mayer Brown have now pulled level with the Magic Circle at £150,000. These are large, high-quality commercial firms with genuine international practices. The work is comparable in complexity to Magic Circle work in many departments. The pay difference reflects differences in profitability and billing rates rather than quality of training.
Mid-market firms: £100,000 to £135,000 NQ
CMS, Simmons & Simmons, Travers Smith, Reed Smith, Pinsent Masons and others sit in this range. Solid commercial firms with strong practice areas and good training. The jump from trainee to NQ is meaningful and the work varies across a wider range of client types.
Regional and specialist firms: £70,000 to £95,000 NQ
Firms like Burges Salmon, Charles Russell Speechlys, Withers, Bristows, RPC, and the larger regional firms sit here. Lower in absolute terms, but significantly higher in real terms outside London. A £76,000 NQ salary at Burges Salmon in Bristol represents comfortable living in a way that £150,000 in London does not always.
What these salaries mean if you are choosing where to apply
Salary should be one input into your decision, not the primary one. The questions that matter more are:
- What type of work do you want to do? The highest-paying firms concentrate in corporate and finance. If you want to do employment, real estate, or private client work, those areas pay differently.
- Where do you want to live? A £76,000 NQ salary in Bristol, Edinburgh, or Leeds goes may be better than £150,000 in London. Cost-adjusted, the gap between tiers narrows considerably outside London.
- What are you willing to trade? The relationship between salary and hours is consistent across the market. Firms that pay more expect more time. That is not a reason to avoid them, but it is a real consideration.
- What firm fits your working style? Culture, management quality, and team dynamics affect daily experience more than salary beyond a certain threshold.
For a complete guide to securing a training contract, see our how to get a training contract guide.
Want to understand how firms generate the revenue behind these salaries?
Our Commercial Awareness Starter Pack is a good place to start. If you are going to talk about law firm salaries in an interview, understanding the business model behind them is what makes the difference between a surface answer and an impressive one.
| Law Firm | Trainee Year 1 | Trainee Year 2 | NQ |
|---|---|---|---|
| A&O Shearman | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Addleshaw Goddard | £52,000 | £56,000 | £100,000 |
| Akin | £60,000 | £65,000 | £174,418 |
| Ashurst | £57,000 | £62,000 | £140,000 |
| Baker McKenzie | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Bird & Bird | £48,500 | £53,500 | £102,000 |
| Bristows | £48,000 | £52,000 | £95,000 |
| Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner | £53,000 | £58,000 | £125,000 |
| Burges Salmon | £49,500 | £51,500 | £76,000 |
| Charles Russell Speechlys | £52,000 | £55,000 | £93,000 |
| Cleary Gottlieb | £62,500 | £67,500 | £172,500 |
| Clifford Chance | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Clyde & Co | £48,500 | £51,000 | £90,000 |
| CMS | £50,000 | £55,000 | £120,000 |
| Cooley | £55,000 | £60,000 | £157,000 |
| Davis Polk | £65,000 | £70,000 | £180,000 |
| Debevoise | £55,000 | £60,000 | £173,000 |
| Dechert | £55,000 | £61,000 | £165,000 |
| Dentons | £52,000 | £56,000 | £104,000 |
| DLA Piper | £55,000 | £60,000 | £140,000 |
| Eversheds Sutherland | £50,000 | £55,000 | £120,000 |
| Farrer & Co | £48,500 | £51,000 | £89,000 |
| Fieldfisher | £48,500 | £52,000 | £100,000 |
| Forsters | £47,000 | £50,000 | £88,000 |
| Freshfields | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Fried Frank | £55,000 | £60,000 | £175,000 |
| Gibson Dunn | £65,000 | £70,000 | £180,000 |
| Goodwin Procter | £55,000 | £60,000 | £175,000 |
| Gowling WLG | £48,500 | £53,500 | £108,000 |
| Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer | £56,000 | £61,000 | £145,000 |
| HFW | £52,000 | £56,000 | £103,500 |
| Hill Dickinson | £44,000 | £45,000 | £80,000 |
| Hogan Lovells | £56,000 | £61,000 | £145,000 |
| Irwin Mitchell | £43,500 | £45,500 | £78,000 |
| Jones Day | £60,000 | £68,000 | £170,000 |
| K&L Gates | £50,000 | £55,000 | £115,000 |
| Kennedys | £43,000 | £46,000 | £85,000 |
| King & Spalding | £62,000 | £67,000 | £175,000 |
| Kirkland & Ellis | £60,000 | £65,000 | £174,418 |
| Latham & Watkins | £60,000 | £65,000 | £174,418 |
| Linklaters | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Macfarlanes | £60,000 | £65,000 | £150,000 |
| Mayer Brown | £55,000 | £60,000 | £150,000 |
| McDermott Will & Schulte | £65,000 | £70,000 | £174,418 |
| Milbank | £65,000 | £70,000 | £174,418 |
| Mills & Reeve | £46,800 | £47,000 | £84,000 |
| Mishcon de Reya | £52,500 | £57,500 | £110,000 |
| Morgan Lewis | £57,500 | £62,500 | £173,000 |
| Norton Rose Fulbright | £56,000 | £61,000 | £140,000 |
| Orrick | £60,000 | £65,000 | £170,000 |
| Osborne Clarke | £55,500 | £57,500 | £97,000 |
| Paul Hastings | £60,000 | £68,000 | £173,000 |
| Paul Weiss | £60,000 | £65,000 | £180,000 |
| Penningtons Manches Cooper | £48,000 | £50,000 | £83,000 |
| Pinsent Masons | £54,000 | £59,000 | £109,000 |
| Quinn Emanuel | n/a | n/a | £189,000 |
| Reed Smith | £55,000 | £60,000 | £135,000 |
| Ropes & Gray | £62,000 | £67,000 | £170,000 |
| RPC | £48,000 | £52,000 | £95,000 |
| Shoosmiths | £45,000 | £47,000 | £105,000 |
| Sidley Austin | £60,000 | £65,000 | £175,000 |
| Simmons & Simmons | £56,000 | £61,000 | £130,000 |
| Simpson Thacher | £65,000 | £70,000 | £178,000 |
| Skadden | £58,000 | £63,000 | £177,000 |
| Slaughter and May | £56,000 | £61,000 | £150,000 |
| Squire Patton Boggs | £50,000 | £55,000 | £110,000 |
| Stephenson Harwood | £50,000 | £55,000 | £105,000 |
| Sullivan & Cromwell | £65,000 | £70,000 | £177,000 |
| Taylor Wessing | £52,000 | £57,000 | £115,000 |
| TLT | £44,000 | £47,500 | £85,000 |
| Travers Smith | £55,000 | £60,000 | £130,000 |
| Trowers & Hamlins | £50,000 | £54,000 | £90,000 |
| Vinson & Elkins | £60,000 | £65,000 | £173,077 |
| Watson Farley & Williams | £51,500 | £56,000 | £107,000 |
| Weightmans | £36,000 | £38,000 | £70,000 |
| Weil | £60,000 | £65,000 | £170,000 |
| White & Case | £62,000 | £67,000 | £175,000 |
| Willkie Farr & Gallagher | £60,000 | £65,000 | £180,000 |
| Winston Taylor | £56,000 | £61,000 | £125,000 |
| Withers | £47,000 | £52,000 | £95,000 |
| Womble Bond Dickinson | £43,000 | £45,000 | £83,000 |
