Law firms Trio of international firms hike salaries for newly-qualified lawyers Tom Cox · 16 June 2025 · 1 min read Pay Ashurst CMS DLA Piper Ashurst, CMS and DLA Piper have all hiked pay for newly qualified (NQ) lawyers as the battle for junior talent continues to rage.Ashurst has increased its NQ salary to £140,000, with DLA bumping rates up to £130,000 and CMS to £120,000.Your limit of 1 article in 30 days is up. Please login for full access or subscribe. Corporate users - click here for simple access (no password needed). For more information, please contact jasmine.glass@legalbusiness.co.uk Related ContentMore in this categoryHow CMS M&A partner David Roberts became the restaurant expert on both sides of the tableLaw firmsKate Peacock20 Apr 2026Revolving Doors: Weil hires Kirkland secondaries partner as Orrick targets Cadwalader againLaw firmsKate Peacock14 Apr 2026Ashurst and Perkins Coie partners vote through 3,000 lawyer transatlantic mergerLaw firmsWill Lewallen13 Apr 2026‘We needed more flexibility’ – Georgia Dawson on reshaping Freshfields for the futureLaw firmsGeorgina Stanley19 Mar 2026White & Case revamps partner assessment as pay decisions loomLaw firmsKate Peacock18 Mar 2026Addleshaws partners approve plan to extend top of pay ladder to £3mLaw firmsAlex Ryan17 Mar 2026Taylor Wessing promotes four to partnership in scaled-back round ahead of mergerLaw firmsEliza Winter20 Apr 2026‘We see more of the market than any other firm’ – why Latham’s City finance team wants to have it allLaw firmsWill Lewallen17 Apr 2026Sidley’s Galacticos – how the US firm went all-in on big names in LondonLaw firmsAlex Ryan17 Apr 2026