Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Lovells and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton have hiked up salaries for their German associates, following the lead of local rivals Hengeler Mueller and Gleiss Lutz.

Freshfields will now pay out up to E95,000 (£65,000) to newly-qualified lawyers in Germany, a raise of 19% from a previous top rate of E80,000 (£55,000), while Lovells newly-qualifieds can expect a maximum of E87,000 (£59,000).