Solicitors specialising in commercial property can expect salary increases of around 25% in this month’s round of reviews, according to a report by recruitment consultants Longbridge.
The company questioned over 2,500 solicitors at firms and in-house departments around the country to compile a detailed breakdown of salaries by region, specialisation and level of experience.
The report expects salaries for qualified assistant solicitors with three years’ experience in a City of London firm to rise from £38,000 – £49,500 pa to £45,000 – £51,000 pa.
The salaries of assistants with five years’ experience in the City are expected to increase from £52,000-£63,000 pa to £57,000-£67,000 pa.
These dramatic rises will be funded by increasing profits in property, corporate and transactional banking work.
The report points out that the pay rises highlight the legal profession’s shortage of solicitors with three to five years’ experience. The report attributes this shortage to the low level of trainees taken on by law firms during the recession.
Jonathan Glass, Longbridge’s legal recruitment consultant, wonders if lawyers will learn any lessons from past business cycles. “These very large salary increases have been exacerbated by the effects of the last recession. Now the big firms can afford to fund them because they are flush on the back of work coming in. But who knows where they will be two years down the line?”
EGi News (Property Law) 20/05/98
