Overview

Legal recruitment consultancy Edwards Gibson provides a summary of the trends and predictions in legal market salaries and bonuses with a particular focus on London Law Firm Assistants.

Principally, the report demonstrates that like-for-like lawyers at all classes of commercial law firms are earning no more than, and in most instances less than, they were in 2007.  Taking inflation into account, they are generally earning substantially less in real terms. Other headline points demonstrated in the briefing include:

• below inflation base salary rises for assistants at UK headquartered law firms for the third year running in 2011;


• a fall in the percentage of bonus payments (in proportion to base salaries) at UK headquartered law firms;


• base salary rises of up to 10 per cent and surprise additional "spring bonuses" paid in March/April 2011 at a small minority of US law firms in London;


• frozen annual bonus payments at US law firms paying "New York Rates" in January 2012;


• delayed base salary announcements at a number of US law firms paying "New York Rates" but strong likelihood that associate compensation will continue to remain frozen, for the fifth year running, at 2008 levels;


• a sharply improved recruitment market throughout 2011 and a strong start to 2012 but an unsettled outlook for 2012; and


• projected fourth year in a row of below inflation salary increases for assistants at UK headquartered law firms in 2012.

For the full details on all these areas and more, click 'View Briefing'.