Recommended minimum salary for trainee solicitors announced

All law firms should pay trainee solicitors a minimum salary of no less than £18,183 outside London and £20,276 in London, the Law Society has stated in a non-binding recommendation.

A minimum salary for trainee solicitors used to be enshrined in law before it was abolished by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in 2014 – a move which has left trainees vulnerable to exploitation and unfair pay by firms. In fact, research has shown that the abolition of the minimum salary has had a negative impact on people from less affluent and/or black and ethnic minority backgrounds joining the legal profession. Indeed, many observers have been disappointed with the SRA’s refusal to engage in promoting fair and best practice in the legal profession, with its decisions to withdraw from the regulatory responsibility to at least try to protect trainee solicitors causing some to question the point of a regulator which does not want to regulate.

All this has led the Law Society to work with the Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) to recommend a minimum salary in the hope that progressive law firms will get on board and shame others into paying a fair wage. The move is a welcome one, but the fact that the new recommended minimum salary is not compulsory means that its effect remains to be seen.

Catherine Dixon, chief executive of the Law Society, said: "The recommended minimum salary for trainee solicitors will contribute to better equality and diversity within the solicitor profession, enabling and supporting entrants from all backgrounds. Qualifying to be a solicitor should always be on merit. We never want applicants’ backgrounds to be a barrier. Many firms have developed recruitment policies that promote equality, diversity and inclusion, and we hope that firms will also adopt the recommended minimum salary for their trainee solicitors."

Max Harris, chair of the JLD, commented: "The JLD welcomes the Law Society's introduction of the recommended minimum salary for trainee solicitors and considers it a huge step forward for social mobility in the legal profession. It is of utmost importance that as a profession we ensure access is open to all, regardless of background. By adhering to at least the Law Society's recommended minimum salary, firms will encourage better access. Of course there are sound commercial reasons for social mobility, which many firms and employers around the country recognise. By creating a profession that is open to all, the profession will attract the best calibre of candidates in all areas of practice. Firms, the profession as a whole and consumers of legal services all benefit."