If I recall correctly 1 or 2 years ago, one of their high profile partners proclaimed on social media to be paying top line starting salaries amongst local firms. With all the usual pitch about valuing people and paying them well. This was before the late 2021 Big 4 pay bump mind you. What wasn't mentioned, was that this top line figure was more or less unchanged since the 2013-2014. In the interim, they had also frozen or cut pay when the legal market wasn't doing well around 2016. Lawyers long enough in the industry would remember.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure they have many good lawyers and do good work. They just have a penchant for tooting their own horn sometimes.

And I'm fairly sure that they aren't paying more than the Big 4 now. Even if they are, its probably only at the NQ or 1PQE stage. The increments for Big 4 associates outpaces the increments for their associates.