1. Legal private practice
Market update & salary review 2011/2012
Australia
In association with Lawyers Weekly
taylorroot.com.au

2. Legal private practice: Market update & salary review 2011
Introduction
The 2010/2011 financial year has been much more settled than the previous few years and has marked a definite and
welcome return to form for most Australian law firms. This positivity has resulted in significant, sustained levels of new
recruitment as firms work hard to re-position themselves and their teams to make the best of increased demand for their
services.
From a recruitment perspective, the most visible change in the last twelve months has been the breadth and consistency of
demand for lawyers across the board. The number of opportunities for corporate and banking lawyers remains very high but
there is often a similar urgency behind recruitment into litigation, real estate, construction, employment, financial services
and trade practices.
The war for talent: home and away
As would be expected the competition for high calibre candidates is fierce and lawyers with blue chip experience and good
track records can expect multiple offers in key disciplines. However, whilst the war for talent is, as ever, being fought over
salary and future career prospects, a new dimension comes from the real and perceived interest from international firms in
Australian talent.
Although relatively small in number so far, the impact of several global law firms arriving in Australia is already tangible. Where
the perceived benefits for many candidates in moving laterally across the top-tier are often too small to consider compelling,
the advantages of moving from a large domestic firm to one of the newly arrived global practices can be very tempting. These
new arrivals are able to talk with confidence about accelerated career development, access to truly cross-border matters and
clients, the development of global networks and, of course, the opportunities for a move overseas further down the track.
There’s no doubt more overseas firms will arrive in Australia in the coming years, the only questions are who, when and
how. Visa restrictions make moving to London impossible for many at the moment and New York is still in recovery mode. For
lawyers keen to experience life in these locations, the opportunity to position themselves in the interim with a global player
is very appealing.
David Buckley
Partner
taylorroot.com.au

3. Legal private practice: Market update & salary review 2011
The energy boom
Buoyed by the mineral and resources boom, markets outside
the traditional legal service hubs of Sydney and Melbourne
have seen a surge in recruitment activity since late 2009.
There are no signs of abatement as we head towards 2012 in
Perth and Brisbane particularly. There is an acute shortage
of talented lawyers across all areas of practice, with top-tier
and leading national firms recruiting in earnest from the East
Coast of Australia, the UK (including Ireland and increasingly
Scotland) and other Commonwealth jurisdictions.
With a relatively small local talent pool, 2011 has seen a
number of leading firms travel around the world to secure
top quality lawyers. Taylor Root has hosted recruitment
teams from many of the top and mid-tier firms in our
overseas offices recruiting for roles across Australia. We
have seen firms offer highly competitive salary packages,
relocation assistance, sponsorship and assistance qualifying
as an Australian practitioner.
Whilst Sydney continues to set the pace, the arrival of some
international powerhouses into WA and the dramatic increase
in competition for candidates has put renewed pressure on
salaries. We have seen lawyers in Perth being offered salaries
comparable to Sydney and in the core practice areas of
Energy & Resources, Projects and Construction, sometimes
more than they would achieve in Sydney. The traditional
gap between Brisbane and Sydney has also narrowed and
candidates can expect to receive competitive offers more in
line with those seen in Melbourne.
taylorroot.com.au

4. Legal private practice: Market update & salary review 2011
The survey
Taylor Root is widely regarded by our clients as being one
of Australia’s premier specialist legal recruitment agencies.
We work across all of the top-tier, national, mid-tier and
boutique law firms. This survey has been compiled with
reference to:
• Salaries offered to candidates by their current employers
following the recent review
• In excess of 1,200 key contacts of Taylor Root were
invited to contribute via an online questionnaire
• Offers of employment made to candidates looking to
move laterally
• Information provided by the firms themselves
The figures in the survey are set out in easy to read salary
bands which refer to the candidates’ years of experience.
The bands acknowledge the diversity of the breadth of
experience at each level and allow candidates and clients to
find the information that is most relevant to them.
There are a number of profitable boutique law firms who are
leading the market with salary packages and these figures
were incorporated into the top-tier bracket. Occasionally
an individual’s salary may fall outside the bands illustrated.
The norm for staff performing at the required level of
achievement will typically be somewhere between the
extremes of the bands.
Matt Harris
Manager
taylorroot.com.au

5. Legal private practice: Market update & salary review 2011
Key results
What is the average percentage increase in base salary you will be awarding lawyers for 2011?
Increase 1-3%
Increase between 4-10%
1
Increase more than 11%
2
3 No increase
4
5
Will 2011 increases be more, less or the same as awarded in 2010?
More
Less
The same
1
2
3
N/A
4
Do high performing lawyers receive a bonus?
Yes: 0-10%
Yes: 11-15%
Yes: 16-20%
1
2
3
No
4
taylorroot.com.au

6. Legal private practice: Market update & salary review 2011
The salaries
Sydney
Experience Top-tier Mid-tier
1 year $72,000 - $83,000 $60,000 - $70,000
2 years $85,000 - $95,000 $75,000 - $88,000
3 years $100,000 - $115,000 $90,000 - $105,000
4 years $115,000 - $135,000 $105,000 - $130,000
5 years* $135,000 - $155,000 $115,000 - $140,000
6 years $155,000 - $185,000 $120,000 - $160,000
7+ years $165,000 - $250,000 $150,000 - $220,000
Melbourne
Experience Top-tier Mid-tier
1 year $70,000 - $80,000 $65,000 - $75,000
2 years $80,000 - $95,000 $75,000 - $85,000
3 years $95,000 - $105,000 $85,000 - $100,000
4 years $100,000 - $130,000 $90,000 - $115,000
5 years* $130,000 - $150,000 $100,000 - $135,000
6 years $135,000 - $175,000 $115,000 - $160,000
7+ years $150,000 + $150,000 +
taylorroot.com.au

7. Legal private practice: Market update & salary review 2011
Brisbane
Experience Top-tier Mid-tier
1 year $65,000 - $75,000 $55,000 - $70,000
2 years $77,000 - $88,000 $68,000 - $83,000
3 years $90,000 - $103,000 $81,000 - $95,000
4 years $103,000 - $122,000 $95,000 - $115,000
5 years* $122,000 - $135,000 $105,000 - $135,000
6 years $140,000 - $170,000 $109,000 - $155,000
7+ years $150,000-$220,000 $140,000-$200,000
Perth
Experience Top-tier Mid-tier
1 year $65,000 - $75,000 $55,000 - $75,000
2 years $80,000 - $95,000 $65,000 - $85,000
3 years $90,000 - $110,000 $80,000 - $100,000
4 years $105,000 - $130,000 $90,000 - $120,000
5 years* $125,000 - $145,000 $100,000 - $130,000
6 years $145,000 - $185,000 $115,000 - $155,000
7+ years $160,000-$250,000 $140,000-$200,000
Adelaide
Experience Top-tier Mid-tier
1 year $53,000 - $68,000 $41,000 - $55,000
2 years $59,000 - $70,000 $44,000 - $58,000
3 years $64,000 - $85,000 $50,000 - $65,000
4 years $78,000 - $95,000 $55,000 - $70,000
5 years* $80,000 - $110,000 $60,000 - $75,000
6 years $92,000 - $120,000 $65,000 - $100,000
7+ years $110,000+ $85,000+
Canberra
Experience Top-tier Mid-tier
1 year $66,000 - $78,000 $50,000 - $68,000
2 years $80,000 - $88,000 $65,000 - $75,000
3 years $88,000 - $100,000 $70,000 - $85,000
4 years $95,000 - $112,000 $79,000 - $99,000
5 years* $115,000 - $140,000 $95,000 - $108,000
6 years $130,000 - $160,000 $98,000 - $118,000
7+ years $140,000+ $120,000+
* These figures include Senior associate salaries
taylorroot.com.au

8. Legal private practice: Market update & salary review 2011
The next twelve months
It is widely expected that the next twelve months will see a continuation of
the current market conditions; an ongoing shortage of talented lawyers and an
increasing urgency amongst firms large and small to maintain and grow their
teams across the board.
In the short term, the most obvious retention issue will be whether, following
a strong, and profitable year, lawyers are happy with their salary reviews and
bonuses. There is a general perception and anticipation that having finally
stepped from the shadow of the GFC, 2011 could be a bumper year.
Looking further into the future, currently there are far fewer lawyers leaving to
work overseas than in previous years due to flat economic conditions, sufficient
local supply and tighter visa restrictions. However, the London market is once
again supply constrained and the demand for corporate and banking lawyers
is outstripping supply as we speak. This will inevitably lead to an outflow of
strong transactional lawyers to the UK, Asia and the Middle East. How quickly
this happens is still unclear but we expect this will become a key recruitment
feature once again very shortly.
Tim Fogarty
Partner
taylorroot.com.au

9. For more information on the private practice recruitment market please contact a member of our team
on: + 612 9236 9000 (Sydney) or + 613 8610 8400 (Melbourne):
Sydney
Matt Harris Dominic Khedun Kathryn Parry
Manager (Canberra/Adelaide roles) (Brisbane/Perth roles)
mattharris@taylorroot.com.au Associate director Associate director
dominickhedun@taylorroot.com.au kathrynparry@taylorroot.com.au
Melbourne
Tim Fogarty Gina Paterson
Partner Consultant
timfogarty@taylorroot.com.au ginapaterson@taylorroot.com.au
Established in the 1980s, Taylor Root is now widely recognised as being one of the world’s leading legal
& compliance recruiters. Operating out of offices in the UK, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney and
Melbourne, we are ideally placed to assist with legal & compliance 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 and risk
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, professional support 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.
Lawyers Weekly is Australia’s leading legal publication enjoyed by legal practitioners of all levels. It is
personally addressed to lawyers in law firms across Australia and abroad, and those who are members
- both past and present - of the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association (more than 4000 in-house
lawyers).
As a weekly publication with a website which is updated daily, Lawyers Weekly is respected as the
independent voice of the legal profession and its content is taken into account by the profession’s decision
makers.
In May 2011, Lawyers Weekly online had over 150,000 unique page views, putting it ahead of well-
known and respected publications BRW and GQ.
Visit www.lawyersweekly.com.au
For information on Lawyers Weekly please contact:
Adrian Fellowes - adrian@lawyersweekly.com.au
taylorroot.com.au

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Taylor Root is a member of The SR Group
taylorroot.com.au