NQ Pay in 2026: London, Birmingham and the Gap Between Them

I will be honest from the start, as a recruiter I do well when people move, so read this with that in mind. The headline NQ numbers get all the attention. What I watch is what they do to everyone a few years above NQ.

The numbers

• In June, Quinn Emanuel moved its London NQ salary from £180,000 to £189,000, a record.
• In the US, Milbank lifted first year associate pay to $235,000 from 1 July, and other firms followed.
• DLA Piper raised London NQ pay to £140,000 and regional NQ pay from £82,000 to £84,000.
• Eversheds Sutherland raised London NQ pay to £120,000 and regional NQ pay from £72,500 to £80,000.
• Legal Cheek's latest table puts average London NQ pay at roughly £119,000, with 64 firms paying at least £100,000. The Magic Circle has held at £150,000 since autumn 2024.

So an NQ at a US firm in London can now earn more than double an NQ at a national firm's regional office, Birmingham included.

The gap matters less than people think

For most lawyers in Birmingham or Manchester, the £189,000 job was never the real alternative. Those roles are few, they are in London, and they usually come with longer hours and higher billing targets. The real competition for a regional NQ is the national firm down the road, and those firms are now paying £80,000 to £84,000.

What caught my eye is that Eversheds' regional rise was bigger in percentage terms than its London one, around 10% in the regions against about 9% in London. Small difference. I read it as a sign the national firms are worried about holding on to people outside London.

Where it really bites

The pressure point is 2 to 5 PQE. When NQ pay jumps by £10,000 and the person two years above gets a small rise, the gap between them shrinks. That person notices. From where I sit, that is usually when a 3 PQE starts answering the phone to recruiters.

It makes lateral hiring harder too. If you want a 4 PQE from a competitor, you are paying for their current salary, the uplift to move them, and the fact their old firm has just pushed its whole scale up.

The other side of it

Plenty of lawyers are not chasing the top number. They pick a regional firm for the work, the hours, the commute and a realistic shot at partnership. The Magic Circle holding at £150,000 is a bet on the same idea, that brand and training still count for something. I think that holds for some people and not for others. It depends on their stage of life and what they want the next five years to look like.

If you are weighing an offer

Look past the NQ figure. Compare the salary at 3 PQE, the hours target, the bonus and how the scale moves year to year. Ask how many people at your level made senior associate in the last two years. That tells you more than the starting number.

If you are hiring

Look at your 2 to 5 PQE people before you look at your NQ rate. A pay review there is cheaper than replacing one of them, and I say that as the person who usually gets paid to replace them.

If you want a straight read on where pay sits against the market, for your own seat or for a team you are building, when would you be free for a quick chat next week?

Sources

• Legal Cheek, Quinn Emanuel sets new London NQ record of £189k
• Law360, Milbank raises associate pay scale
• Legal Business, DLA Piper boosts NQ pay
• Legal Cheek, Eversheds Sutherland boosts NQ pay
• Legal Cheek, what top firms are paying NQs in 2027