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This is how much grad lawyers will earn in 2019 and it’s depressing

How much can you sell a personality for?


Everyone wants to earn a lawyer salary. After sacrificing their personality and social life, it's probably fair enough for law students to expect big bucks. Still, even after just one year, a training contract could net you upwards of £50,000.

Legal Cheek have ranked the UK's law firms by how much first year trainees earn, for the 2019 edition of their "The Firms Most List".

It reveals that a Davis Polk & Wardwell training contract is the most lucrative, netting you £55,000 after your first year.

Meanwhile, a Jones Day training contract will net you £50,000.

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This could be you

These make the £40,000 on offer from an Eversheds training contract seem paltry in comparison.

The rankings show the earnings for a first year trainee at each law firm.

Find out the highest paid training contracts for that sweet, sweet solicitor salary:

Davis Polk & Wardwell – £55,000

Debevoise & Plimpton – £50,000

Jones Day – £50,000

Kirkland & Ellis – £50,000

Milbank – £50,000

Sidley Austin – £50,000

Skadden – £50,000

Sullivan & Cromwell – £50,000

Akin Gump – £48,000

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton – £48,000

White & Case – £48,000

Linklaters – £47,000

Hogan Lovells – £46,000

Latham & Watkins – £46,000

Ropes & Gray – £46,000

Weil Gotshal & Manges – £46,000

Allen & Overy – £45,000

Baker McKenzie – £45,000

Dechert – £45,000

DLA Piper – £45,000

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer – £45,000

Gibson Dunn – £45,000

Norton Rose Fulbright – £45,000

Shearman & Sterling – £45,000

Slaughter and May – £45,000

Travers Smith – £45,000

Clifford Chance – £44,800

Ashurst – £44,000

Herbert Smith Freehills – £44,000

Macfarlanes – £44,000

Mayer Brown – £44,000

Simmons & Simmons – £44,000

CMS – £43,000

Covington & Burling – £43,000

Reed Smith – £43,000

Stephenson Harwood – £43,000

Watson Farley & Williams – £43,000

Osborne Clarke – £42,500

Dentons – £42,000

Mishcon de Reya – £42,000

K&L Gates – £41,000

Pinsent Masons – £41,000

Gowling WLG – £40,500

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner – £40,000

Charles Russell Speechlys – £40,000

Eversheds Sutherland – £40,000

Forsters – £40,000

Taylor Wessing – £40,000

Addleshaw Goddard – £39,500

PwC – £39,000

Wiggin – £39,000

Fieldfisher – £38,500

Bird & Bird – £38,000

Bristows – £38,000

Clyde & Co – £38,000

Even the lowest lawyer salary on this list is pretty crazy, and they're not even qualified yet

You can read the full list here, on Legal Cheek.

But be warned, some of them are pitiful. I mean, less than £35,000? Can you imagine?

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Why Law Students are the Worst, by a Law Student