City TMT specialist Olswang has swept aside its assistant “lockstep” – becoming the first major London firm to ditch the traditional UK model of annual salary bands for junior lawyers.

The radical move, which was implemented from 1 May, will leave the firm’s management with near total discretion to set the pay of assistant lawyers, rather than tying the firm to fixed rates based on seniority. Newly qualified lawyers salaries have been fixed at £46,000.