Davis Polk Increases London Trainee Salaries to £70,000 (1)

Davis Polk & Wardwell has set a new high mark for trainee salaries in the UK as the fight for legal talent in London trickles down to entry-level positions.

Davis Polk raised second-year trainee solicitor salaries to £70,000 ($91,500) and boosted first-year pay to £65,000, according to the firm’s website. That marks a £5,000 increase at each level, and reflects the top rates for trainees among Big Law firms in the city.

The move by the Wall Street firm—a perennial leader in associate compensation stateside—is the latest in an ongoing pay war in the London market, which now extends ...