Salary Survey 2014 legal talent
legal talent Welcome to the 2014 edition of enl Legal s annual salary survey. This has been compiled using results gathered from a comprehensive national survey of law firms and major organisations in the private and public sector, as well as utilising our experienced consultants market knowledge. About enl Legal Recognised for knowledgeable, straight-forward and practical legal recruitment advice, enl s team of specialist and experienced consultants work closely with candidates and businesses to offer a personal and confidential legal recruitment service with the aim of building lasting relationships. Respected across the UK within the private practice, in-house and public sector markets, our approach is both commercial and timely. Alongside partner, feeearner, secretarial and team-move appointments, we also offer significant expertise in mergers and acquisitions. We are committed to providing the highest standards of recruitment practice; enl is a corporate member of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) and many of our consultants are qualified, individual members. enl operates a people focused culture concentrating on matching the right person to the right role. To find out more about our services, please visit our website: www.enllegal.co.uk or contact one of our team directly: www.enllegal.co.uk/meettheteam.php We would like to thank everyone who took the time to complete our salary survey and hope the findings in the following pages are of use to you. 2
legal talent Private Practice Vacancies have continued the steady increase that began during 2013. This can be seen across every region of England and Wales, with a particular increase in the commercial and residential property, corporate and commercial sectors. When analysing permanent vacancies that were registered in 2013 and 2014, an increase of 83% was reported by enl Legal consultants when comparing like for like months. Employers are keen to retain employees as well as attract the best people and skills in order to expand departments that have been affected by the recent recession. As a consequence, salaries have risen at all levels over the last 12 months and there is an increased emphasis on enhanced benefits and performance-related pay. The junior end of the market is also well on the way to recovery starting salaries for newly qualified solicitors are now probably the highest we have seen since 2007. All the firms we surveyed provide some kind of bonus scheme, whether that be discretionary or target based and individual or team orientated. 100% of the firms provide pensions, private medical cover and life cover benefits. In addition, the vast majority provide car parking facilities, health cover and support for further studies. Interestingly, flexible working hours are now becoming more common in private practice which, as the availability of skilled lawyers continues to decline, should mean those firms will be seen as attractive to work for by those individuals who need this flexible approach to work. 3
London and South East London remains the UK s best performing market and billing is expected to increase by 2.5% over the coming year. The past 12 months have brought real positive signs of growth and the market for lawyers in private practice has significantly improved since the start of 2014 contributing to a tangible turnaround in business sentiment. It is evident that employers are already seeing a real shortage of experienced applicants and when it comes to practice areas this is particularly apparent with a dramatic increase in hiring taking place in the real estate and residential conveyancing markets. Over the last 12 months we estimate there has been a 50% increase in vacancies arising in these practice areas and employers are finding the pool for talent extremely competitive. We are seeing Property Lawyers being offered multiple positions reflecting this demand and employers consider finding experienced candidates as one of their toughest challenges. Salaries are definitely rising again across the private practice market and from the salary reviews held in 2014 the results estimate a likely increase of 4% and 7% across the bands. Candidate shortages mean that applicants in particular practice areas can attract higher salary premiums. We are also seeing an increase in NQ salary rates, with junior lawyer retention rates also improving. London Level of PQE (years) Minimum Includes boutique, niche and small London practices Maximum Includes Top Tier/magic circle firms (Not US) NQ 38,000 42,000 65,000 1 40,000 55,000 74,000 2 42,000 65,000 80,000 3 45,000 70,000 90,000 4 46,000 78,000 97,000 5 50,000 82,000 99,000 6+ 53,000 85,000 110,000+ Salaried Partners 65,000 150,000 200,000+ South East (Outside London) NQ 33,000 39,000 45,000 1 35,000 43,500 52,000 2 37,000 46,500 56,000 3 40,000 49,500 59,000 4 43,000 56,000 61,000 5 45,000 57,500 70,000 6+ 48,000 61,500 75,000+ Salaried Partners 60,000 75,500 90,000+ 4
Midlands and South West Bristol salaries are often higher than Birmingham as a lot of the firms compete with the London firms to attract candidates to the Bristol market. The figures quoted are an approximation of the firms in the differing areas. For superstars, firms will go outside of these brackets and have been known to offer a golden handshake on arrival at a firm to entice people in. Private Client Lawyers and Residential Lawyers are highly sought after in the East Midlands, East Anglia and the South West, with new vacancies arising within top, mid-tier and high street firms. Firms are riding out the legal aid changes which have resulted in the decline of criminal and family positions nationally. West Midlands including Birmingham NQ 26,000 32,000 38,000 1 27,000 34,000 40,000 2 29,000 36,000 43,000 3 30,000 38,000 45,000 4 32,000 40,000 48,000 5 35,000 43,000 52,000 6 36,000 45,000 55,000 7+ 42,000 51,000 65,000+ Partner 45,000 75,000 120,000+ Paralegal 15,000 22,000 28,000 Legal Executive 20,000 25,000 30,000 Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Shropshire & Warwickshire NQ 21,000 26,000 31,000 1 23,000 28,000 33,000 2 25,000 30,000 35,000 3 29,000 34,000 37,000 4 31,000 36,000 40,000 5 36,000 39,000 43,000 6 37,000 41,000 46,000 7+ 38,000 43,000 49,000+ Partner 45,000 55,000 60,000+ Paralegal 15,000 22,000 25,000 Legal Executive 20,000 25,000 32,000 5
Midlands and South West (continued) East Midlands & East Anglia NQ 25,000 31,000 37,000 1 30,000 34,000 39,000 2 33,000 36,000 41,000 3 35,000 38,000 44,000 4 36,000 42,000 46,000 5 40,000 46,000 51,000 6 43,000 48,000 56,000 7+ 46,000 51,000 58,000+ Partner 51,000 56,000 61,000+ Paralegal 15,000 20,000 25,000 Legal Executive 20,000 25,000 30,000 South West NQ 25,000 30,000 41,000 1 28,000 34,000 43,000 2 31,000 36,000 45,000 3 33,000 38,000 46,000 4 36,000 41,000 48,000 5 38,000 44,000 50,000 6 40,000 48,000 52,000 7+ 45,000 50,000 55,000+ Partner 50,000 75,000 120,000+ Paralegal 15,000 21,000 25,000 Legal Executive 20,000 25,000 30,000 6
North Salaries in the North of England are mirroring other regions in seeing a near return to pre-recession levels as far as the major regional and national firms are concerned. Commercial firms in Leeds and Manchester will pay the top salaries across the area, with other cities including Newcastle, Sheffield, Liverpool and Hull coming in a little lower. Remuneration within these firms will vary depending on the area of law that practiced e.g. Corporate and Real Estate Solicitors are more likely to earn the maximum level than those handling insurance and defendant personal injury matters. Travel out to the smaller towns and more rural areas, where the focus is providing a more high street service of conveyancing, wills & probate, matrimonial and civil litigation and profit margins are a great deal tighter, therefore salary levels are reflected in this. Yorkshire NQ 21,000 30,000 40,000 1 23,000 33,000 42,000 2 24,000 35,000 44,000 3 26,000 38,000 46,000 4 28,000 40,000 48,000 5 31,000 42,000 50,000 6 34,000 44,000 54,000 7+ 36,000 47,000 60,000+ Partner 40,000 80,000 110,000+ Paralegal 15,000 20,000 28,000 Legal Executive 18,000 25,000 33,000 North West NQ 23,000 30,000 40,000 1 24,000 33,000 42,000 2 25,000 35,000 44,000 3 27,000 38,000 46,000 4 28,000 40,000 48,000 5 32,000 43,000 50,000 6 34,000 45,000 55,000 7+ 36,000 48,000 60,000+ Partner 45,000 80,000 120,000+ Paralegal 15,000 22,000 29,000 Legal Executive 18,000 27,000 35,000 7
North (continued) North East & Cumbria NQ 20,000 28,000 37,000 1 22,000 29,000 39,000 2 24,000 31,000 40,000 3 25,000 32,000 42,000 4 25,000 34,000 44,000 5 28,000 37,000 45,000 6 28,000 38,000 47,000 7+ 30,000 40,000 48,000+ Partner 40,000 50,000 70,000+ Paralegal 14,000 20,000 27,000 Legal Executive 17,000 23,000 30,000 8
legal talent In-House The legal in-house market has continued to show steady but cautious growth. Energy, technology and pharmaceuticals have remained steady over the last twelve months, whilst finance, retail and FMCG have all been picking up momentum. Across all industries there has been a demand for Lawyers at either end of the qualification spectrum and we expect this to continue for the rest of 2014. As ever, general Commercial Contracts Lawyers with two to five years PQE remains the consistent skill set in demand although we have also seen a rise in demand for Corporate and Property Lawyers. The growing impact of regulatory changes has meant an increase in the demand for Data Protection, Privacy, Compliance and Regulatory Lawyers For the first quarter of 2014 base pay, by and large, remained at last year s levels. However, strong demand for candidates in quarter two has been putting pressure on prospective employers to increase salaries to attract quality candidates who are still cautious about moving. London remains the UK s best performing market but other UK hubs are noticeably busier. These include the East and West Midlands which saw a 30% increase in in-house vacancies, Leeds 18% and the Thames Valley 25%. Recruitment activity in the North West has remained slow with no significant increase. Generally, General Counsels are positive about the outlook with 75% expecting an increase in business activity, and as a result, despite pressure on legal departments to keep costs down, 40% are expecting to recruit more permanent staff. We may be seeing the first signs of a return to a candidate driven market. 9
Midlands South East Level of PQE (years) Range Level of PQE (years) Range NQ 30,000 35,000 32,000 1 32,000-38,000 35,000 2 36,000-43,000 40,000 3 40,000-46,000 43,000 4 44,000-56,000 52,000 5 48,000-60,000 55,000 6 50,000-62,000 61,000 7 55,000-65,000 63,000 GC 89,000-120,000 110,000 NQ 35,000-42,000 38,000 1 38,000-44,000 42,000 2 44,000-51,000 46,000 3 48,000-55,000 50,000 4 53,000-60,000 57,000 5 58,000-66,000 62,000 6 62,000-70,000 67,000 7 68,000-77,000 73,000 GC 90,000-140,000 120,000 North London Level of PQE (years) Range Level of PQE (years) Range NQ 28,000-34,000 30,000 1 30,000-36,000 35,000 2 34,000-42,000 38,000 3 38,000-45,000 43,000 4 42,000-55,000 47,000 5 45,000-58,000 52,000 6 48,000-60,000 55,000 7 52,000-63,000 60,000 GC 70,000-110,000 95,000 NQ 40,000-50,000 45,000 1 45,000-53,000 49,000 2 50,000-58,000 54,000 3 55,000-63,000 60,000 4 60,000-73,000 67,000 5 65,000-75,000 71,000 6 70,000-82,000 76,000 7 77,000-90,000 85,000 GC 110,000-180,000 150,000 London - Banking/Financial Services Level of PQE (years) Range NQ 43,000-53,000 48,000 1 45,000-55,000 50,000 2 55,000-65,000 60,000 3 60,000-70,000 64,000 4 70,000-77,000 73,000 5 75,000-84,000 78,000 6 83,000-95,000 85,000 7 93,000-115,000 97,000 GC 120,000-220,000 180,000 10
legal talent Public Sector enl has seen an increase in public sector vacancies across the last 12 months, with c10% of our public sector vacancies coming from local government, c10% from the education sector and emergency services and a massive c80% from a range of regulatory bodies. The roles that have been seen in local government have predominantly been in planning and commercial property across the UK, except in London Boroughs where childcare has been the busiest area. Although we have not had a large number of local government vacancies when they are advertised we receive a good number of high quality applications. Our regulatory roles consistently attract a high number of applications and offer excellent remuneration packages. We have also seen organisations consider different salary structures, offering increases with career progression or occasionally a one off payment upon the successful completion of projects. This area of work is attracting candidates from private practice and in-house roles to consider a career in these organisations, suggesting people see a bright future for this previously struggling sector. Job Title / Level Public Sector Regions Public Sector London Paralegal / CILEX 18,000-25,000 18,000-26,000 Assistant Solicitor 24,000-32,00 25,000-40,000 Senior Solicitor 30,000-35,000 37,000-47,000 Principal Solicitor 40,000-50,000 45,000-60,000 Head of Department 50,000-55,000 55,000-65,000 Head of Legal 45,000-55,000 60,000-90,000 Director of Legal 55,000-100,000+ 70,000-100,000+ 11