Login
For the love of money: the ever-expanding and lucrative house
The ever-expanding and lucrative house It is the fastest growing area of the legal profession, and they are making their voices heard
The ever-expanding and lucrative house It is the fastest growing area of the legal profession, and they are making their voices heard
In-house lawyers now account for over 20 per cent of the profession. In the past, lawyers have left private practice law firms to go in-house due to a combination of long hours, disillusionment with timesheets, and law firm bureaucracy, while swallowing a substantial pay cut.
This is not necessarily the case anymore.
According to the Mahlab Private Practice Salary Survey, lawyers with top-tier firms in Sydney in their third year of practice can expect to earn between $88,000 and $135,000. In-house lawyers with the same level of experience compare very favourably, and can generate salaries of between $92,000 and $120,000.
In Brisbane, in-house lawyers are even more ahead of the curve.
Top-tier and large national law firm employees at the second-year senior associate level can expect to earn a salary of between $130,000 and $170,000. Corporate lawyers with six or more years experience can expect to be paid at a rate between $125,000 and $220,000. Mahlab reports that in-house lawyers received an average salary increase of 4.69 per cent for the 2010-11 financial year. While that might generally be considered to be a modest salary increase, it is up on wage increases from 2008-09 (3.5 per cent) and 2009-10 (4.06 per cent).
“There has also been a revival in in-house recruitment activity,” says the Mahlab Report. “There is an increased demand for in-house counsel in Sydney and Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne.”
It pays well to be in Perth
The Taylor Root 2011-12 salary guide shows that for inhouse lawyers, Perth is the hot place to be. “Salaries have increased significantly in Perth and particularly in the primary industry sectors, and nowoutpace Sydney in both value and incremental growth,”says the survey. “Our results show that every client reported an upward salary review indicating that, for now, the post-GFC salary freezes are over.” It is not just in energy and resources where Perth lawyers are faring well.
According to Taylor Root, in-house lawyers with six to 10 years experience in IT and telecommunications can expect to achieve higher salaries than their Melbourne counterparts, while for the areas of trade and transport and property and construction, Perth lawyers with more than 10 years experience can expect a healthier pay packet than both their Sydney and Melbourne counterparts.
The energy rich state of Queensland is also able to offer in-house lawyers competitive salaries. For lawyers at the three to five-year level, it offers parity or, at the very least, increased incomes with Sydney and Melbourne counterparts, in areas as diverse as trade and transport, property and construction, and energy and resources.
Can bonuses last?
Bonus payments have become the norm for Australian in-house lawyers.
According to Taylor Root, 90 per cent of respondents were awarded a performance-related bonus. Almost one third of those respondents (30 per cent) received increases in excess of 20 per cent of their annual base salary.
As expected, the more senior lawyers received the largest bonuses, with the Mahlab survey pointing to bonus targets of between 10 and 20 per cent of annual salary for junior lawyers.
The greater availability of bonuses for junior lawyers is part of a trend that has seen in-house positions become more attractive for junior lawyers.
According to the JLegal salary survey, while in-house roles normally attract lawyers with between four to six years experience, corporations are now more willing to look at lawyers with two to four years’ experience.
“The advantage of increasing headcount at this junior level is that candidates have the requisite legal skills to effectively assist senior colleagues and can be developed whilst relationships with external providers are maintained,” says the JLegal report.
