Firms Boost U.K. Pay to Account for Slumping Dollar

An increasing number of law firms are hiking pay for their lawyers in London because of the slumping American dollar.

Many new lawyers at U.S. firms in London make base salaries of about $188,000, more money than their New York big-firm counterparts, according to Legal Week. Several law firms have agreed to favorable exchange rates in an effort to retain lawyers, including Weil, Gotshal & Manges; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; and Sullivan & Cromwell, the legal publication says.

Many firms say the poor exchange rate has also made lateral hiring more difficult in the United Kingdom.