Newly-qualified (NQs) lawyers working in the capital will take home £63,000, up from £53,000 during the equivalent period last year.

Yet despite the financial benefits on offer many are ready to quit.

Legal Week revealed the record pay outs and announced that NQs working at the top 20 UK law firm’s in Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds earned £40,000 during the 2007-08 term – a 14 per cent hike from the £35,000 on offer in the regions last year.

Yet despite the attractive remuneration on offer almost a quarter of lawyers want to leave the profession because of stress and long hours, reports The Times. A poll conducted by YouGov for The Lawyer magazine confirms that there is widespread dissatisfaction with the work-life balance in law.

The survey also shows that 20 per cent of managing partners – those in charge of the firm – wish they were in another job, the paper adds. But few lawyers feel able to leave their jobs, chiefly because of the pay cut.