Solicitiors earnings?

[El D]

Hey all, just wondered how much all the solicitors/paralegals/fee earners actually earn, both immediately PQ and after a few years. Is there a clear progression of earnings through your career or is there a ceiling somewhere? Would appreciate some candid answers. cheers

[Miss Zippy]

(No doubt you�ve already looked up various �salary survey� finding but these don�t often give you true findings. There is quite a big gap in earnings between high street firms and the big city firms. Your average high street solicitor is probably not as highly paid as many people think.  Partners and high flyers in big City firms can earn hundreds of thousands of pounds, but then these are people at the top of the legal profession, who are widely recognised in their field and are the exception. Based on my own experience as a fee earner in a high street practice (I was a trainee at the time) and that of the many people I know in practice, I would sum up as follows: Non-qualified fee earners (i.e. those who are not qualified solicitors, though you may have a law degree etc) in a high street firm, will earn anything between �15k to �22k.  The legal industry is becoming increasing �de-skilled�, in that firms often prefer to hire non-qualified personnel (who are cheaper)to do work that traditionally would have been done by solicitors.Once qualified you might expect to earn between �18k and �23k.  The area of law you choose to specialise in after qualification can have a significant bearing on your earnings.  Generally speaking, �bread and butter� areas like conveyancing, family law, criminal law and probate  pay less (a 4yr PQE sol might  earn between �28k to �32k). Areas of commercial law pay more. For instance, a 4yr PQE solicitor in commercial property might earn around �45k.  Partners obviously earn more, around �50k to �60k for an equity partner in a high street firm (this can be more or less of course, depending on the profitability of the firm).  Cont...

[Miss Zippy]

...There is a ceiling on earnings in the sense that in the first 5 years or so following qualification, your salary can rise quite quickly but once you�ve been qualified for 5 years, your earnings capacity does not really increase (unless you become a salaried or equity partner or move into industry).  Basically, a five year qualified solicitor can command the same salary as one qualified for 15 years, so earnings do not increase in line with purely the length of time you�ve been qualified. Hope this is of some help, but if you have any specific questions I�ll try and answer.

[El D]

thanks for your answers Miss Zippy very helpful. I don't really have a specific question really, just at a bit of a crossroads between law and a career in construction project management. 'Les parents' are desperate for a solicitor in the family but personally I am convinced I will actually earn more in the latter and it fits better with my personality and working 'style'. It just doesnt have the respectability of a true profession. But as I thought its not quite as high flying as most expect. Do I recall correctly in that you chose industry over law also?

[Miss Zippy]

Yes I chose industry over practice, as working in practice didn't turn out to be the challenge I thought it would be.  When I left practice, I didn't actually appreciate at the time just how better off financially I'd be working in an alternative career in industry so that wasn't really a consideration at the time, I just wanted a job I'd enjoy. I know nothing about construction project management (!) so can't compare the two professions, but good luck in whatever you decide :o)