WilmerHale and Steptoe & Johnson both raised pay for first-year associates in their D.C. offices to $145,000 Wednesday, joining the competition and establishing a new benchmark in the Washington market.

“It was clear that’s where the market is,” says William Perlstein, WilmerHale’s co-managing partner. “We’ve adopted the same structure that we’re seeing elsewhere because we’re committed to paying competitive salaries.”