Login
The pay disparity between boutique and BigLaw starters revealed
A new salary guide has highlighted a considerable difference between the lawyers starting off their careers in a top-tier firm versus those at a boutique.
Emma Musgrave
Gatehouse Legal Recruitment has just released its 2018–2019 Private Practice/Australia Salary Guide, utilising a compilation of salary and market information to determine the pay packets of lawyers at different levels of experience and place of work, including superannuation but not other bonuses or benefits.
By stark comparison, those lawyers first starting out at a boutique law firm in Melbourne earn between $55,000–$75,000, while those in Sydney earn $60,000–$75,000, the report found.
Similarly, the pay disparity between partners at boutiques and those at top-tiers was also evident in the report.
At partner level in a top-tier firm in Melbourne, employees earn above $300,000 while those in Sydney earn above $320,000. In comparison, at a partner level at a boutique in Melbourne, employees earn above $200,000 and in Sydney, above $220,000 – this paints a potential $100,000 difference between partners at boutiques and partners at BigLaw in terms of salary.
The guide also offered an insight into the earnings of those first starting out at a mid-tier. In Melbourne, new starters can expect anywhere between $65,000–$80,000 if employed by a mid-tier, whereas in Sydney they can expect between $70,000–$85,000.
At a mid-tier partner level, Melbourne-based professionals can expect above $275,000 while Sydney-based professionals can expect a salary above $300,000.
Emma Musgrave
Emma Musgrave (née Ryan) is the managing editor, professional services at Momentum Media.
Emma has worked for Momentum Media since 2015, including five years spent as the editor of the company's legal brand - Lawyers Weekly. Throughout her time at Momentum, she has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest stories in corporate Australia. In addition, she has produced exclusive multimedia and event content related to the company's respective brands and audiences.
Prior to joining Momentum Media, Emma worked in breakfast radio, delivering news to the Central West region of NSW, before taking on a radio journalist role at Southern Cross Austereo, based in Townsville, North Queensland.
She holds a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) degree from Charles Sturt University.
Email Emma on:
