Revealed: Salary hotspots for newly qualified lawyers

Are you a newly qualfied lawyer? Take a look at what you could be earning…

Where ever you work, whatever you do for a living salaries vary across the country but where’s the best place to go if you’re a newly qualified lawyer?

BCL Legal Recruitment have released their internal data on the UK hotspots and best-paid practices for newly qualified lawyers.

What may come of an interest is that those who choose to focus on commercial practice will receive the highest salary, compared with those in insurance or general practice.

As a newly qualified lawyer entering a commercial practice in London, you could receive anything between £35,000 and £101,000. An average pay works out at £65,000.

Those based in North West, Yorkshire or South West will see an average wage of £39,000. Unfortunately, if your living in the North East you will be worst off with an average pay of £34,000.

Pay rises in this field across the country fluctuate, in London you could be looking at a rise of £5,000 whereas anyone else could be looking at just £2,000.

What about if you’re working in general practices? Well the salaries don’t change much across the country. London you’ll be looking at an average of £27,000 if your newly qualified and this is only £3,000 less than North West, Yorkshire, North East and South West. Although in some cases lawyers in the Midlands can earn up to £1,000 more.

This can end up changing over the years as others tend to climb the ladder where they can be earning up to £10,000 more in the Midlands.

James Batt, managing director at BCL Legal Recruitment, said: “Our internal data shows how much newly qualified lawyers’ salaries differ from region to region. 

 “It might seem great choosing to live and work in London, as the salaries are higher than anywhere else in the UK. However, you do need to take into account the cost of living. You may earn £20,000 a year more than those based elsewhere, but you can also pay many times more on your rent, travel and lifestyle, which can bring your income much lower than expected.”