Pound’s Brexit Slump Means Higher Pay for Young London Lawyers
- Salaries pushed up as U.S. firms pay dollar-equivalent rates
- London’s ‘Magic Circle’ firms follow suit to retain staff
Schroders' Olu-Pitan Sees More Volatility for Pound
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The U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union is having an unintended consequence: higher pay for some of London’s top young lawyers.
The increases for attorneys at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and other large practices come after some U.S. firms decided to set pay in dollars, and then convert it to pounds for distribution to U.K. employees. With the currency’s plummet amid the Brexit vote in June 2016, the Americans had to pay more in pounds, and local firms including Clifford Chance LLP risked losing talent if they failed to follow suit.