Legal survey reveals stark salary gap

SALARIES for newly-qualified lawyers in the North West are behind competing regions such as Birmingham, but are slightly ahead of Leeds.

Manchester-based legal recruiter BCL Legal said average pay in the North West was £32,500, in Yorkshire and the North East it was £32,000 while in the Midlands the figure was £33,500. More than 400 newly-qualified solicitors were surveyed during the process.

Those taking part work in the offices of national, regional and medium sized commercial firms as well as those working in the ‘magic circle’ firms in London.

The research, which covered core disciplines including commercial litigation, insurance, corporate and property, showed that – not surprisingly – London NQs were the best paid with an average salary of £51,000 per year with the Home Counties coming in second with an average of £36,000.

James Batt, managing director of BCL Legal, said: “There’s no doubting competition has been stiff this year with NQs working hard to find the right position.

“However, many areas of the law – including commercial disciplines and insurance litigation – have been buoyant and it’s positive to report that average salaries for NQs are pretty strong given the current market conditions. It’s not really a shock to see London coming out on top but the difference between the salaries paid in the capital compared to the rest of the UK is quite stark.

“Our prediction is that the market will continue to evolve and NQs will need to adapt to those changes – especially as more mergers and acquisitions will no doubt happen over the next 12 months.”