Salary survey
OVERVIEW
There are many factors affecting individual salary and benefit packages and the overriding one has got to be that of supply and demand. The legal market now is a vastly different place to its peak during 2007 when there was a consistent flow of legal work and lawyers, legal executives and paralegals could find themselves with multiple job offers. In particular the Corporate and Commercial Property areas saw an unsurpassed demand to recruit Solicitors and correspondingly salaries in these legal disciplines were at a premium.
The global conditions has resulted in a considerable slowdown in many of the Corporate and Commercial markets , largely impacted by a reduction in lending. To counter this, there has been an increase for Insolvency and Finance Litigation services and some lawyers have been able to switch market specialism. The demand for candidates has certainly shifted and practice areas which have remained steady include Employment, Litigation, Personal Injury/Clinical Negligence and Matrimonial.
Over the last 12 months there has been less pressure on Solicitor salaries than in previous years and this has led to a freezing of salaries in many firms. At the newly qualified levels for 2009 there have been many reductions in Solicitor salary levels which is again due to supply and demand.
Broadly speaking where there is still demand for skills then salaries will tend to be at the premium end and of course, firms tend to pay a premium for staff that they don’t want to lose. This may also apply to lawyers that regularly exceed their billing targets and therefore may have an expectation of an increase or possibly an annual bonus. Also firms may have to pay a premium when recruiting in to a sought after legal discipline.
The tables detail the Solicitor salary ranges within the commercial private practice sector across the regions with the focus on Birmingham for the Midlands and on Bristol for the South West. If you are seeking specific salary information for certain sectors or geographic areas then please get in contact.
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Solicitor Salary Survey
| PQE | Minimum | Average | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| NQ | £27,000 | £37,000 | £41,000 |
| 1 | £30,000 | £40,000 | £44,000 |
| 2 | £32,000 | £42,000 | £48,000 |
| 3 | £34,000 | £43,000 | £52,000 |
| 4 | £38,000 | £47,000 | £57,000 |
| 5 | £40,000 | £50,000 | £64,000+ |
| PQE | Minimum | Average | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| NQ | £26,000 | £36,000 | £41,000 |
| 1 | £30,000 | £39,000 | £45,000 |
| 2 | £33,000 | £41,000 | £49,000 |
| 3 | £34,000 | £43,000 | £55,000 |
| 4 | £37,000 | £46,000 | £60,000 |
| 5 | £39,000 | £50,000 | £65,000+ |
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