If you haven’t already, take a look at the Talkback thread that is developing off the back of the news that Allen & Overy (A&O) is hiking associate pay by 15% as part of a major overhaul of its pay and reward structure (see story).
Some readers are evidently underwhelmed by the shake-up, while others believe that motherhood and apple pie only exist on Walton mountain. Actually, there is a sense of deja vu about A&O’s announcement today. It performed a similar trick almost exactly a year ago, when it surprised the market by announcing a round of out-of-season pay hikes. At the time the move was seen as a defensive one that reflected attrition problems within the firm’s core finance practice, although, to be fair, it did also herald an end to a four-year pay freeze across the London market. This time around, the firm can justifiably point to the introduction of a far broader package of measures that are designed to help the firm attract and retain good people.
