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Which lawyers will get pay rises this year?
New research shows that more legal professionals will get pay rises this year than last, but those rises will not be as high as hoped for.
Jerome Doraisamy
According to the FY 2019/20 Hays Salary Guide, released yesterday, 90 per cent of employers will increase salaries for their lawyers in their next reviews, up from 87 per cent who did so at the last reviews.
Sixty-five per cent of employers intent to raise salaries at the lower level of 3 per cent or less, which is up from 57 per cent at the last review. Highlighting this point is that – at the other end of the spectrum – just 4 per cent of employers are looking to give pay increases of 6 per cent of more, down from 9 per cent last time.
The research also showed that 27 per cent of lawyers expect no increase whatsoever, and a further 41 per cent expect a rise of just 3 per cent or less.
That being said, Hays noted, these lawyers are “not going to sit idly by and accept it”.
More than half – 57 per cent – say a salary increase “is their number one career priority this year”, and 46 per cent plan to achieve this goal by asking for it, while 41 per cent say they are looking elsewhere for a job. An “uncompetitive salary”, these jobseekers said, is provoking such searches.
Hays Legal managing director Darren Buchanan said the “aggregate effect of several years of sedate salary increases” is taking its toll and there is now a tug-of-war over salaries going on.
“On the one hand, we have professionals telling us they’ve prioritised a pay rise and are prepared to enter the job market to improve their earnings. On the other, employers tell us they want to add to their headcount and are being impacted by skill shortages, yet they wish to curtail salary increases,” he said.
“There are of course exceptions, particularly as the supply and demand ratio continues to favour legal professionals. Within private practice, salary increases have been seen for Lawyers with four to give years [PQE], particularly in small practices in response to the scarcity of candidates.”
“Salaries for senior associates in mid-tier firms are also steadily increasing as a retention strategy. Top-tier salaries have seen some increases too as firms attempt to attract candidates in demand,” he continued.
In-house salaries have improved for most levels of PQE across all industry sectors, Mr Buchanan continued.
“In particular, the high demand for lawyers with [three to five years PQE] and for those with leading and mid-tier private practice training in commercial law, IT and M&A is adding to salary pressure.”
“Within the public sector, and despite demand, salaries remain steady. This creates a gap between the salaries on offer and the expectations of candidates, which adds to the shortage of lawyers looking for work in this sector,” he concluded.
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.
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