Earnings and entitlements of a lawyer

Down to the important stuff - how much money could you make as a high-flying lawyer?

SOLICITOR

Trainee

On completion of your law degree or conversion course, and your legal practice course (LPC), you'll need to do two years of practice-based training, known as a training contract. This enables you, under supervision, to apply the skills and knowledge you've learned so far.

"The majority of training contracts are in private practice, but they're also available in local and central government, commerce and industry, the Crown Prosecution Service, the magistrates' court service and elsewhere," says Rita Oscar, membership development executive at the Law Society.

Most firms operate a system where trainees spend six four-month periods in different departments, such as crime, personal injury, corporate, property, litigation and private client. The minimum salary for trainee solicitors in central London is £18,420 (£16,500 elsewhere) but that rises considerably in the City, where first-year trainees can receive £28,000 to £41,000.

First job

Newly qualified solicitors are often known as assistants or associates. This means you gradually take on increasing levels of responsibility and build up your technical, legal and client-handling skills. The average salary in the City for newly qualified solicitors is £65,000. Many of the American firms in London tend to have higher salaries still, but outside the City you may be looking at considerably less.

Next step

In law firms, assistants can become senior assistants or associates, then salaried partners, while solicitors working in other organisations may move sideways into management. At this stage, salaries depend on your position, the size and location of your firm and your area of law.

And finally...

Law firms are partnerships, owned and managed by the partners. There is no set time for promotion to partner, but you are looking at a minimum of six years. The career structure working as an in-house solicitor is very different. A solicitor working within local government, for instance, may work up to in-house lawyer, then supervising principal, then head of department and ultimately chief legal officer. Other senior in-house roles include senior legal adviser or counsel, head of legal services and legal director.

You could earn more than £100,000. Some equity partners have been known to earn in excess of £1m. Many firms also offer a non-performance related firm bonus on top of salaries from 5 to 50 per cent.

BARRISTER

Trainee

Once you've done your law degree or conversion course, plus your Bar vocational course (BVC), you can start your pupillage, which is the barrister's equivalent to a training contract. It is a one-year period of in-service training: the first six months are spent shadowing an experienced barrister in preparation for the second six months, during which you are entitled to supply legal services and exercise rights of audience under supervision.

"Pupillage can be undertaken in chambers or another organisation approved by the Bar Council, such as the Crown Prosecution Service or a legal department in a large company," explains Marisa Booker, careers and information assistant at the Bar Council.

"But beware: there are many more applicants than available pupillages," she says. All pupillages are funded at a minimum of £833.33 per month, although awards can be significantly higher.

First job

After successful completion of pupillage you become a junior barrister: the cases you deal with start to become more serious and complex but all the more interesting for it.

"Most barristers are self-employed even at this stage, undertaking work that has been referred to them by a solicitor," says Booker. "Specialist areas of work include criminal law, common law - including family - housing and personal injury law, chancery law and commercial law."

Typical earnings for barristers range from £25,000 to £150,000 within the first five years of being called to the Bar. But, again, there are huge discrepancies in earnings depending on your area of specialism and where you work.

Next step

If you're self-employed, career development and financial stability are very much dependent on the cases you take, your approach to the work and your ability to successfully build up a practice and a good reputation. As such, much also depends on you honing and updating your skills. At the employed Bar, career progression may involve heading up a legal team or moving into the higher levels of general management. Once you've been a barrister for 10 or more years, you can expect to earn anything from £65,000 to £1m.

And finally...

For many barristers, the eventual aim is to become a Queen's Counsel (QC), which involves leading in very serious cases or entering the judiciary as an assistant recorder prior to becoming a judge. Top QCs can earn £1m per year. Self-employed barristers won't get benefits but, like solicitors, those at the employed Bar are likely to receive an attractive package of benefits and bonuses.