Salaries in Top Tip For In Demand for Thoughts on the Market

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1 In Demand for 2016 Thoughts on the Market PQE Solicitors Commercial Contracts Lawyers IP Lawyers Compliance Professionals Company Secretary Litigators We have witnessed a sustained increase in demand across in house and practice as confidence has improved and companies start to grow. Salaries in 2016 Although salaries did not increase significantly in 2015, work life balance, bonus and benefits became a stronger feature of total remuneration when candidates were considering opportunities. A significant trend emerging towards the latter half of 2015 was a growth in counter-offers, which are likely to drive salaries up in Top Tip For 2016 Get qualified otherwise you will hit a glass ceiling in terms of professional development was a positive year for the legal industry with areas such as funds, corporate banking, commercial property and IP being at the core of this. Salary levels improved for mid-senior level appointments during 2015 and with demand increasing across certain sectors such as technology and IP we can expect further improvements in We witnessed a sustained increase in demand across private practice and in-house throughout the year as confidence returned to the market. This allowed legal professionals with specialist skill sets to secure new roles across a number of different sectors. As the market improved, so did competition for high-calibre candidates, with sign-on bonuses and counteroffers featuring regularly throughout Throughout the year, professionals with one to five years postqualified experience were highly sought-after in a number of areas, including funds and regulation, banking, commercial property and commercial litigation. Those with backgrounds in corporate law and mergers and acquisitions were also in demand, while Central Bank of Ireland regulations stimulated demand for in-house lawyers within financial services. We also witnessed a return to hiring within listings.

2 In house There was an increased demand for legal professionals for in-house roles, with organisations seeing the commercial benefit of bulking up their in-house legal team. The financial services sector in particular accounted for the majority of demand. Funds lawyers and commercial contracts solicitors were highly sought after and across all industries there was an increase in demand for compliance professionals. These trends look set to continue throughout Mergers and acquisitions are going strong in the current market and demand for lawyers with skills in this area will be strong in We have seen a huge increase in the demand for contract solicitors across all the major industries and for short term high level expertise. Hiring managers are advised to maintain momentum within the recruitment process in order to secure top talent. Practice 2015 saw further improvements within practice. The returning confidence in the Irish market resulted in increased hiring, particularly within the Big 10 law firms for both solicitors and company secretaries. While solicitors with litigation and banking experience remained in strong demand, a welcome return to the market is the demand for solicitors with property and conveyancing experience. We expect this to continue in 2016, along with further demand for those with technology and IP experience. These improvements in outlook bode well for newly qualified solicitors as firms look set to retain more graduates post qualification and take on more trainees in Following the large cuts in graduate recruitment in 2009 and 2010, coupled with people choosing to emigrate and travel upon completion of training contracts, there has been a noticeable decrease in the current availability of newly qualified lawyers. Due to this, graduate level hiring has increased over the course of 2015 to match and in some instances exceed prerecession levels. We would expect to see this trend continue into The small to medium sized practices have been recruiting throughout the last year and are expanding for the first time in 5 years. When hiring top talent, employers will need to highlight clear career progression plans. We have also noticed employers re-introducing counter offers over the past 12 months to retain exceptional talent that is in short supply. Looking ahead, we expect companies to continue focusing their recruitment efforts on candidates with one to five years post-qualified experience. We anticipate senior-level opportunities will become available to legal professionals with a strong client following and/or Magic/Silver Circle experience. In-house positions are also likely to open up as companies try to reduce their external legal costs. In 2015, salaries have increased by 3-5% with some increases of 5-10% for top talent with unique skill sets in the niche areas. However the short supply of top talent and the lure of candidates to make the move across to industry will require employers to offer more competitive benefit packages in 2016, including higher base salaries and bonus structures. Retention measures and counter-offers are likely to drive remuneration up in 2016 as market conditions continue to favour legal professionals. Compliance Across domestic, international and investments there has been a focus on compliance and risk departments within investment banking, AIFMD, FATCA, Form PF and MiFID. There has been a rise in roles in the registration and listing areas and candidates with this background will continue to be in demand through Within risk there has been growth for operational risk candidates in particular candidates with exposure to business continuity management and disaster recovery. The job market was buoyant for compliance professionals in 2015, with increased demand across fund management, insurance and professional services. Candidate confidence continued to grow throughout the year, leading to increased movement in the jobs market. Hiring activity was stimulated by new regulation, with many organisations looking to recruit permanent and contract staff to help meet the requirements of specific directives.

3 Demand was strong for professionals with experience in consumer regulation, prudential regulation, and MiFID, AIFMD, AML and data privacy. AML regulation also led to increased hiring for contract and temporary candidates, while more companies looked to fill hybrid roles combining compliance with operational risk or legal skills, or data privacy with information security. Regulation will continue to influence recruitment activity in 2016, and candidates that can adapt to measures such as the EU Data Protection Directive, MiFID II and the new Money Laundering Directive will be highly sought-after. Skilled professionals will be challenging to source, in particular those with prudential experience, while junior to mid-level compliance professionals will be popular hiring options as companies focus on succession planning. Speed to market will be extremely crucial when hiring in 2016 as top talent will go off the market very quickly and will have the pick of opportunities from prospective employers within compliance. Get in touch with our team by ing or call us on IN HOUSE IN-HOUSE Legal Executive 30-40k 28-38k Newly Qualified Solicitor (0-3 years PQE) 45-55k 40-50k Junior Legal Counsel 50-80k 45-60k Senior Lawyer k k General Counsel k k Head of Legal (in-house) 3-20 lawyers k k Head of Legal (in-house) EMEA/Regional k k Head of Legal (in-house) Global k k COMPLIANCE AML Officer 30-40k 28-35k Fraud Officer 28-40k 26-32k Fraud Manager 50-80k 40-60k Data Protection Officer k 50-80k Compliance Administrator 25-35k 23-32k Compliance Officer (1-3 years) 30-50k 25-45k Compliance Manager (3-5 years) 50-70k 45-65k Compliance Manager (5-8 years) 65-95k 55-85k Head of Compliance k k MLRO k k

4 PRIVATE PRACTICE Listing Executive 35-50k 28-42k Company Secretary Trainee 28-38k 25-30k Company Secretary (1-3 years' PQE) 40-60k 35-45k Company Secretary (5 years' + PQE) 50-70k 40-60k Company Seceterial Manager 55-90k 52-80k Director of Company Secretarial k 60-95k Newly Qualified Solicitor 45-55k 42-52k 1-3 years' PQE 50-65k 45-60k 3-5 years PQE 65-80k 60-75k 5 years + PQE k k Salaried Partner k - Equity Partner k - LEGAL SUPPORT Legal Secretary (0-3 years exp) 22-30k 20-25k Legal Secretary (3-5 years exp) 30-35k 25-32k Legal Secretary (5+ years exp) 35-40k 32-36k Legal Executive (0-3 years exp) 25-30k 22-26k Legal Executive (3-5 years exp) 30-40k 26-35k Legal Executive (5+ years exp) 40-50k 35-45k Paralegal (0-3 years exp) 22-28k 21-26k Paralegal (3-5 years exp) 28-40k 26-36k Paralegal (5+ years exp) 40-50k 36-48k All salaries taken as annual in Euros, based on working in Ireland. Bonus/car allowance not included. Figures are based on current market rates. Salaries are subject to variances based on the individual, the company size and other external factors. Parameters indicate the highest and lowest salary level for each position. Never miss a legal job Follow

5 Sigmar Recruitment Salary Guide 2016 Sigmar Recruitment, established in 2002, is a leading Irish recruitment services company with 15 specialist divisions across the entire recruitment process and managed service spectrum. Winner of 33 awards for recruitment excellence and workplace culture, we employ over 100 industry specialists in Dublin, Cork, Galway, and Poland. Dublin 13 Hume Street, Dublin D02 F861 Tel: +353 (0) info@sigmar.ie Our experience extends across: Accountancy & Finance, Banking & Financial Services, Construction & Property Services, Engineering, HR, IT, Insurance, Legal, Life Sciences, Marketing, Multilingual, Sales and Supply Chain. Find our more about us at Galway Dockgate, Dock Road, Galway H91 PC04 Tel: +353 (0) galway@sigmar.ie Cork 33 South Bank, Crosses Green, Cork T12 F611 Tel: +353 (0) cork@sigmar.ie