Douglas Scott Legal Recruitment’s 2014 legal salary benchmark survey is now complete and the results have been published.
Alongside important new information on legal salaries around the country, the survey has also deciphered some other interesting information – namely the happiest person in law.
The lucky man to recieve this title is Leciestershire-based parter and accredited mediator at Josiah Hinks Solicitors, Mr Steven Mather.
In their second annual legal salary benchmark survey, Douglas Scott took in £99,214,604 of salary data, using information from 1000 survey responders, 3727 candidate registrations and 2625 job instructions.
What makes Steven so happy?
Douglas Scott looked at factors such as job, salary and benefit satisfaction; bonus; commute and likelihood respondents would be moving jobs in the next 6 months.
Quite simply by using these terms, Steven – a 6 years PQE Solicitor who has been with Josiah Hincks Solicitors for 2 years – scored highest.
Working habits
As well as worker happiness, the survey revealed intimate information on the real reasons legal workers leave their jobs, and how long Gen Y lawyers are remaining settled in roles for. The below infographics show the split between respondants – most had been in their current role for under three years.
Progression in their legal career was cited as the main reason professionals were leaving their jobs, however redundancy and new challenges were given as the second and third most popular reasons for a change, success was not felt across the board for respondents.
Interestingly, only 3% claimed their daily commute was a deciding factor on their reasons for leaving a law job, showing that if the job is a good fit, employees are willing to travel for it.
Salary
When asked, survey responders said the main benefit they would prefer as an incentive was more paid holiday days – more than a paid bonus, flexi time, or a company car.
Finally comes the true benchmarking of legal salaries by practice area. Criminal law was by far and away the sector with the highest-paid individuals, showing 20% of employees earning above market rate figures, heads and shoulders above General Practice, the next-highest performer, which stood at 6% of employees above the industry average.
Private Client and Employement and Pensions showed themselves to be the practice areas operating in below market rate salary levels.
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(All infographics have been used with permission from Douglass Scott Legal Recruitment.)
