Australian Law Jobs
The lawyer salary landscape for Australian lawyers continues to evolve as the law job market shows that corporate law roles are commanding higher salaries than traditional law firm roles with law firms remaining cautious in their legal recruitment.
The latest salary survey from the College of Law, which was undertaken in late 2023 and early 2024 with over 1,300 lawyer respondents nationwide, revealed some notable trends, such as the salary advantage for corporate law.
For lawyers with 1-5 years of experience, the largest respondent group, corporate organizations paid an average base salary of $108,066 – considerably higher than law firms at $85,023. This corporate salary premium extended across most experience levels.
Law Firm Salary Stagnation
More than a third of lawyers employed by law firms reported receiving no salary increase over the past 1-2 years – a fact that was in stark contrast to the 57 percent of corporate lawyers who received raises, often in the 5-10 percent range.
However LawFuel’s inquiries indicate that there is some ‘cautious optimism’ within the Australian legal market.
Although Australian demand for legal talent has diminished since the immediate post-Covid highs, where for the first time even junior lawyers were being offered sign on bonuses.
Yet despite a global downturn in 2023, felt most particularly in the Corporate/M&A space, demand for high calibre lawyers in Australia remains high, especially in private practice, at the 3-8 years’ PAE level.
The most sought-after level continues to be at the junior-mid Senior Associate level, our inquiries indicate, as this is typically the level at which lawyers tend to transition in-house.
Declining Demand For Junior Lawyers
Kirsty McNay, (pictured) a recruitment manager with Burgess Paluch said there had been a declining demand for junior lawyers, those with 2 years or less PAE, across all levels.
“Firms are also now more reluctant to sponsor so the appetite for overseas qualified lawyers has diminished. The demand for quality lawyers with 3-8 years’ PAE, strong academic transcripts, experience from a renowned firm and excellent interpersonal skills, remains high across every practice area.”
Lateral Hires
Australian Law firms continue to hire laterally, Kirsty McNay says, particularly at partner level.
“Many leading boutique and mid-tier firms are offering environments which can match and sometimes beat the top tiers in terms of work quality, culture, and remuneration prospects, so partners are being drawn to consider making a move,” she says.
Often the lateral hire will require the accompanying move of a substantial client, as it does in any legal market with lateral hires, but not always.
Shifting Targets for Billing and Bonuses
The College of Law survey shows that targets for billable hours are changing with only 56 percent of the respondents in law firms saying they had individual targets, a significant move from the usual strict billing criteria.
Where targets existed, common ranges were 5.1-7 hours per day.
Performance bonuses paid by law firms were offered by 35 percent of law firms and 59 percent of corporates, ranging from $1001 to $10,000.
For corporates the salary reviews were also more frequent while 20 percent of the law firm respondents said their reviews occurred “haphazardly”.
It is apparent that as corporate legal departments in Australia continue expanding and competing for talent, they are demonstrating a willingness to pay premiums over law firms for experienced lawyers.
Law firms may need to re-evaluate compensation structures to retain and attract top talent in what remains a competitive legal market, with corporate law opportunities taking the edge.
