Law f irms woo graduates with £150k salaries
GRADUATE lawyers have been compared to professional footballers after a City recruitment firm revealed they are being handed starting salaries of £150,000.
the whopping entry packages come as leading law firms in London compete to hire more staff and talent.
recruiter robert Walters said graduate salaries had soared by as much as 50 per cent, with young graduates fresh out of law school being handed six-figure sums.
alan Bannatyne, chief financial officer at robert Walters, said: ‘It is extraordinary handing these wages to people who are 23 or 24 years of age.
‘the only benchmark I can think of is football, although some of them are on £150,000 a week.’
demand for young legal brains is being driven by the economic bounce back after the pandemic as well as fewer lawyers being trained over the past two years.
Law firms – including the socalled ‘magic circle’ of prestigious London-based multinationals like Clifford Chance – have also experienced higher resignations during the pandemic as more lawyers quit due to exhaustion.
at the same time fewer lawyers are travelling from countries such as australia which has reduced the candidate pool still further. Mr Bannatyne added: ‘It takes three years to train a lawyer and fewer people were trained during Covid.
‘But there’s been a big increase in workload in the City, particularly mergers and acquisitions and floats as well as navigating Brexit. Companies are hiring, not firing.’
the increases have been led by american firms, renowned for big salaries and even heavier workloads.
Last month u.S. firm ropes and Gray announced it would pay newly qualified lawyers £147,000, trumping British rivals like Simmons and Simmons and Macfarlanes who offer a modest-by-comparison £100,000.
Banks and technology firms have also increased their offers for graduates and more experienced staff.
robert Walters said 15 per cent was the minimum pay rise on offer.
Mr Bannatyne continued: ‘unless something significant happens, 2022 should be even better for staff.’
the hiring spree boosted profits at robert Walters by 39 per cent for the final few months of 2021, hitting £95.1million.
But despite salary inflation being at its highest level for 20 years, the recruiter warned that not everybody was winning, with many employers not in a position to pay well.
Mr Bannatyne said: ‘Bricksand-mortar retailers and airlines have really struggled, so will probably not be paying bonuses or giving pay rises.
‘So they become a hunting ground for other growth businesses, such as online retailers, anything to do with technology and digital, and manufacturers of household goods.’
the news comes as the UK faces a cost of living crisis as soaring energy bills, rising inflation and tax increases erode people’s pay packets.
MPs are worried that if the crisis escalates then Prime Minister Boris Johnson could lose the next election.
‘Only benchmark is football’