London legal salaries on rise, survey reports

Lawyers working in London are continuing to see their salaries rise year on year, according to a recent salary survey by international consultancy company Robert Walters.

The most notable rises were to in-house salaries, which are growing faster than the pay packets of private practice lawyers - whose salaries increased by 1.6% this year. In contrast, in-house lawyers working for commercial and industrial companies enjoyed a 4.1% fixed pay rise, while the salaries of in-house lawyers at financial firms went up by 2.5%. Permanent salaries were also shown to be growing faster than contract rates.

Colin Loth, director of legal recruitment at Robert Walters, said: "Despite uncertain market conditions, the legal jobs market has been steadily improving over the past year and this is reflected in the fact that salaries are continuing to rise. Within private practice, we are seeing consistent demand for junior level associates at the two - four years' PQE level in finance-related roles. At this level, the best professionals are receiving notable salary increases when moving roles. Contract rates are also on the rise in some key areas. For example, documentation review specialists can now expect £35-40 an hour compared to £25-30 an hour a year ago. Consistent demand from IT and technology, energy, telecommunications and pharmaceutical businesses for lawyers has prompted the increases evident in commerce and industry. As always, these companies are seeking strong commercial lawyers with excellent business facilitation skills - it is these professionals who are receiving the largest increases when moving roles."