Norton Rose joins the firms softening their stance on junior pay…but not for NQs whose pay will remain at £59,000. For trainee there’s an increase from £35,700 to £37,000 and associates beyond the NQ stage will see their salaries being subjected to discretionary pay reviews – so they might just go up.

Irwin Mitchell has become the second of the UK top 50 firms to take advantage of the Legal Services Act and convert to Legal Disciplinary Partnership (LDP) status (the first was apparently Halliwells). In the process they have made up two non-lawyers to the firm’s equity. LDP staus means up to 25% of a law firm’s partnership can be non lawyers.

And hot on the heels of Hogan Lovells, Denton Wilde Sapte is to merge with US firm Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal in a deal touted as a merger of equals. It will create a £500m, 1,250-lawyer firm with offices on four continents.

And the spurious news this week:

Hulk Hogan has sued the manufacturer of Cocoa Pebbles cereal for allegedly misappropriating his likeness. He says he has been harmed by the “unauthorized and degrading depictions in the Cocoa Smashdown advertisements.”

i.e. he doesn’t like being seen to be beaten up by a toddler.

And finally, someone’s come up with the law’s answer to SuperMario: “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney,” – “The law has never been so much fun!”

The professional view:

Capcom “deserves a lot of credit for sticking to one of the least appealing-sounding concepts in game history,” writes John Herrman at Gizmodo.

Have a good weekend.