2. West End /Niche City Firm Salary Survey 2012
Summary
The first six months of 2012 was slower than many firms would have hoped as the predicted economic recovery failed to
materialise. Although the UK entered into a double dip recession, following several years of cost-cutting and caution, most
firms are now much better placed to cope with these difficult economic times and the general feeling is that things are
beginning to improve.
Growth across the West End and niche City market was slow but steady during 2011 and this pattern continued into 2012.
Most firms have been reluctant to grow their teams and instead, the recruitment focus has been predominantly on replacing
lawyers who have left. 2012 has also seen many firms increase salaries for the second consecutive year.
Review of 2011
There was disparity in the sizes of the West End and niche firms that we surveyed, but there was still an element of
consistency in terms of 2011 recruitment, with over a third of firms recruiting between 3 – 5 solicitors over the course of
that year.
Just under 30% of firms hired in excess of 5 solicitors and around 20% hired only 1 – 2 solicitors over the same period.
Although there has been a wide range of sectors that firms have been recruiting into, unsurprisingly, in most cases there has
tended to be a focus on the key historical areas of strength. The top five areas of recruitment for West End and niche firms
during 2011 were corporate, commercial property, commercial litigation, employment and IP. Family and private client were
not far behind.
It is worth comparing these responses to the larger City firms who have, in general, been busier than their West End
counterparts. Although the appetite for recruitment is still nowhere near the levels that were reached during the heights of
2007, there has been consistent recruitment across the board.
Outcome of 2012
The results of our survey conducted at the beginning of 2012 showed that almost 65% of the firms we spoke to anticipated
recruiting between 3 – 5 solicitors over the course of 2012 – an increase of 30% on the figures for 2011 and the clearest
example yet of optimism starting to return to the market. A further 20% of firms expected to hire at least 1 – 2 solicitors over
the same period. So far, in most cases, it looks like these predictions are on course to being met.
Interestingly, we predicted that there were going to be some unexpected changes to the top five busiest areas of recruitment
for West End and niche firms during 2012, with banking and private client joining commercial property, commercial litigation
and IP as the most likely areas of recruitment. These predictions have proved to be correct, although banking has not been
quite as prominent as we anticipated. However, employment has been a key growth area and one of the busiest recruitment
sectors.
Broadly speaking, the NQ market has been extremely difficult and competitive for most candidates. Retention rates have
increased but lots of firms have preferred not to recruit external candidates and this has resulted in fewer NQ jobs on
the market for candidates leaving the firms where they have trained. There has been an unprecedented number of quality
candidates on the market and this presents firms with a unique opportunity to recruit some outstanding lawyers. Surprisingly,
NQ growth appears to be in some of the more niche practice areas including construction, planning and IP litigation.
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3. West End /Niche City Firm Salary Survey 2012
Salary & benefits
For the second consecutive year, salaries have increased at most of the firms surveyed. On average, the salary increases have
been between 3% - 5%. This is an indication that not only is confidence beginning to return to the market, but also that firms
are keen to ensure that they do not get left behind by their competitors.
Some firms are now starting to move away from ‘bandings’ and are focusing on a meritocratic approach that allows them more
flexibility depending on the strengths of a particular lawyer. We anticipate that this practice will become more commonplace
over the next couple of years.
West End Niche City
NQ £40,000 - £55,000 £45,000 - £60,000
1 £44,000 - £60,000 £50,000 - £65,000
2 £46,000 - £65,000 £55,000 - £70,000
3 £48,000 - £70,000 £65,000 - £75,000
4 £50,000 - £75,000 £70,000 - £80,000
5 £52,500 - £77,500 £75,000 - £85,000
6 £55,000 - £80,000 £80,000 - £95,000
7 £60,000 - £85,000 £85,000 - £100,000
Junior Partner £75,000 - £115,000 £110,000 - £150,000
Assistants/associates recruited in the last 12 months Assistants/associates envisage recruiting in the next 12
months
0 14% of respondents 0 14% of respondents
1-2 22% 1-2 22%
3-5 36% 3-5 64%
6-10 22% 6-10 0%
11+ 6% 11+ 0%
Holiday entitlement offered to new joiners Benefits offered to new joiners?
26-28 days 15% Pension contribution 86%
23-25 days 85% Private Health Insurance 86%
Permanent Health Insurance 50%
Life insurance 100%
Discounted Gym Membership 29%
Season Ticket Loan 100%
Conclusion
So far, 2012 has seen a slight dip when compared to 2011. However, the second half of the year has started positively and
there is optimism that the feel good factor from the Olympics will filter through and encourage a strong end to the year.
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4. For more information please contact a member of our team on +44 (0)20 7415 2828
Nick Smetana Louise Carlton Gemma Hamshar
Senior Consultant Consultant Consultant
nicksmetana@taylorroot.com louisecarlton@taylorroot.com gemmahamshar@taylorroot.com
Established in the 1980s, Taylor Root is now widely recognised as being one of the world’s leading legal
recruiters. Operating out of offices in the UK, Dubai, Asia and Australia, we are ideally placed to assist
law firms, banks and companies with their legal recruitment on an international basis. Taylor Root has
a strong track record in the recruitment of: Heads of Legal and legal advisers; law firm associates and
partners; contract/locum lawyers; paralegals; company secretaries and compliance professionals.
Taylor Root is a member of The SR Group. The SR Group is a specialist recruitment consultancy dedicated
to raising standards in the business environments that we serve. The sectors we cover include tax, legal,
human resources, marketing and executive search, dealing with a substantial number of the world’s
leading professional partnerships, multi-national corporations and international banking groups as well as
small to medium sized developing organisations.
London Dubai Hong Kong
95 Queen Victoria Street Suite 614, Liberty House DIFC 1918 Hutchinson House
London EC4V 4HN PO Box 506739 10 Harcourt Road , Central, Hong Kong
T: +44 (0)20 7415 2828 T: +9714 448 7770 T: +852 2973 6333
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Taylor Root is a member of The SR Group
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