Associate pay is not the only thing Allen & Overy (A&O) has sent northwards of late; the firm’s recent decision to hike assistant salaries by ’20%’ has raised eyebrows in the Square Mile in more ways than one.

It is an odd response for what looks, at first glance, like the most significant move on salaries since SJ Berwin raised its pay bands by 25% in 2000, citing the dotcom boom.