Chambers boost pupillage awards to £100,000 amid US law firm salary surge
updated on 21 February 2025
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Top commercial law barristers' chambers are increasing pupillage awards to £100,000 following salary boosts at US law firms in the City.
Pupil barristers can expect to earn £100,000 at Gough Square Chambers and Gray’s Inn Tax Chambers, according to Legal Cheek ‘Most List’. Other prestigious sets such as Fountain Court Chambers and Blackstone Chambers have increased pupillage awards to £90,000, while 4 Stone Buildings, 7 King's Bench Walk, Brick Court Chambers, Essex Court Chambers and South Square have recently increased their pupillage awards to £80,000.
The trend is said to reflect the growing pressure on UK chambers to remain competitive in attracting top talent. Chris Clark from legal executive search boutique Definitum said the increase in pupillage awards to £100,000 is a means for chambers “to stay competitive while faced with US law firms hoovering up law school student talent”.
However, some heads of chambers have dismissed the notion of a pay war with US law firms. One chambers said: “We feel no pinch for talent and have no problem attracting candidates of the very highest quality, both in the UK and internationally.”
Elsewhere, the co-head of Blackstone Chambers, Tom Weisselberg KC, said that the set remains “highly competitive in all aspects of practice and life at the Bar” and that its pay rise “was not a response to the amounts offered by the US firms but rather a result of our desire to continue to make a pupillage at Blackstone as attractive as possible to those who are looking for a career as an advocate at the Bar”.
