Career Clinic: What salary should I expect as an NQ in-house lawyer?

Read a salary survey

£1 a week plus all the biscuits you can stuff into your pockets.

Anonymous -17 Sep 2012 | 13:52

more to it than salary surveys oh great patronising one

- 40-60 plus bonus plus pension
- expect to be on the low side though as you're qualifying from within rather than being lured from a (typically) higher paying law firm
- have a proper conversation with your line manager about benchmarking your pay though, it's not unreasonable to do so
- however, don't forget there are an awful lot of NQs around and you are extremely easy to replace
- also note a number of managers (myself included) would consider that we have been pretty good to you in arranging a training contract in an in-house environment (fairly unusual unless you're in a big bank) and it costs the firm money to do so, so go easy - we don't owe you a living

Stupot -17 Sep 2012 | 15:21

What value do you bring?

Know your worth, in terms of typical salaries but also self-belief. By that I mean confidence not arrogance. Many people so not do thorough research nor prepare a case, justifying why they deserve a figure.

Being clear about your achievements and the value you bring, as well as investing in your skills and marketability is wise. The law market is changing fast and the competencies that law firms seek are shifting too. Make sure that midst huge competition, you have a distinctive personal brand, a great network, possess excellent interpersonal skills plus can demonstrate good business development and networking ability. Being a good lawyer is no longer enough by itself. Good luck!

EnergiseLegal -03 Oct 2012 | 13:46

In-house salaries

hi,

The legal market is going through tremendous change and perhaps there are too many lawyers. Private practice redundancies continue. Therefore, do you research, consult a selection of salary guides but they should always be taken with a huge pinch of salt (remember, a candidate is not the recruitment agency's client!).

There's a lot to be said for certainty and stability in volatile times and i agree with one of the other comments, there are many NQs and it's an "employer's market" who can dictate salary, especially at the lower PQE level.

There are very few traineeships offered by in-house employers and so you've been lucky. In Scotland at least, many private practice lawyers are only too willing to move in-house in light of the market conditions and because of the fact that the prospect of partnership is no longer as profitable or appealing as it once was.

As i understand it, city firms have debt issues hence their attraction to ABS.

Finally, remember, if you trained in-house, some may perceive your experience to be narrower than a trainee at a law firm and this would have an impact on salary too unless the law firm had business reasons to get someone with a footing in a particular sector.

lawyer -16 Oct 2012 | 13:23