taylor root - australian private practice salary guide - 2011/2012

Legal private practice Market update & salary review 2011/2012

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In association with Lawyers Weekly

Australia

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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

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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.

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Matt Harris Manager

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.

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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%

Increase more than 11%

No increase

Will 2011 increases be more, less or the same as awarded in 2010?

More

Less

The same

N/A

Do high performing lawyers receive a bonus?

Yes: 0-10%

Yes: 11-15%

Yes: 16-20%

No

12345

1234

1234


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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

The salaries

MelbourneExperience 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 +

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BrisbaneExperience 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

AdelaideExperience 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+

CanberraExperience 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+

PerthExperience 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

* These figures include Senior associate salaries


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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

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 [email protected]

Dominic Khedun (Canberra/Adelaide roles)Associate [email protected]

Kathryn Parry(Brisbane/Perth roles)Associate [email protected]

Melbourne

Tim Fogarty [email protected]

Gina Paterson [email protected]

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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 - [email protected]

London 95 Queen Victoria StreetLondon EC4V 4HN T: +44 (0)20 7415 2828

Dubai Suite 614, Liberty House DIFC PO Box 506739 T: +9714 448 7770

Hong Kong 1918 Hutchinson House 10 Harcourt Road , Central, Hong Kong T: +852 2973 6333

Singapore 30 Cecil Street#21-03/04 Prudential TowerSingapore 049712T: +65 6420 0500

Melbourne Level 2, Rialto North Tower525 Collins StreetMelbourne, VIC 3000T: +61 (0)3 8610 8400

Sydney Level 12, 25 Bligh Street SydneyNSW 2000T: +61 (0)2 9236 9000

Taylor Root is a member of The SR Group

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taylor root - australian private practice salary guide - 2011/2012

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