Salary Guide

Legal Executives - Midlands

Salary ranges for Legal Executives are more difficult to predict, with a number of factors influencing salaries paid.

• Geographical Area: City Centre salaries are higher than provincial practices, with discrepancies between certain cities and also between areas of the country.

• Years of Experience: In most cases, years of experience are more important than ILEX status in determining salaries paid. Increasingly, Firms are rewarding staff who gain ILEX qualifications and attain Member and Fellow status, many will fund ILEX courses too.

• Areas of Discipline/Market Forces: Salaries can be strongly influenced by general market forces and economic trends. As Legal Executive salaries are not as prescribed as that of Solicitors, who are governed to a large degree by their PQE, in many cases they are paid based on their billing figures, as opposed to seniority or time served. As a rough guide, it is not unreasonable to expect to earn one quarter to one third of what you bill.

There is indication however of some firms bringing Legal Executive pay scales for Legal Executive Fellows in line with their Solicitor equivalents. This is likely to continue as practice rules change to benefit Legal Executives in the future and the increase in the number of Fellows achieving Higher Rights of Audience.

Our unique position in the legal marketplace has allowed us to compile the following table:

Family
This area has experience a small but significant increase in the latter part of 2007 and beginning of 2008. Demand is stronger for candidates with experience in privately funded work, in particular ancillary relief.

Wills & Probate (Private Client)
Consistently high demand for experienced Execs and junior fee earners. Senior candidates particularly with Tax & Trusts experience are always very popular and firms are making quicker and higher offers to attract candidates.

Debt Recovery
The change in the economy has seen an expected increase in demand from firms with established operations in this sector. Increased workloads in both mortgage repossession and undefended debt recovery mean candidates at all levels are required. This area of work can in medium / small firms be a useful route into more complex commercial litigation.

Residential Property
The slump in the financial markets has had a marked effect on jobs and job security in this sector. Redundancies are becoming more common although firms seem to be retaining more experienced candidates, "riding the storm" until market conditions improve.

Commercial Property
The continuing property development in the midlands commercial centres have enable this sector to remain relatively stable, although it is less common for firms to pay high premiums for in demand Commercial Property lawyers.

Personal Injury
This sector continues to regain strength, with defendant candidates still in relatively short supply. Claimant work is increasingly accompanied by a bonus related to a fee earners profit costs. Demand is still high for candidates with a minimum of 18 months fee earning experience dealing with fast-track caseloads. Paralegals and legal executives are now seen as more cost effective, self sufficient and flexible than solicitors. Salaries do vary quite dramatically between firms due to differing bonus schemes and quality of work.

Crime
Police Station Accredited Representatives are still in demand, however the criminal market has obviously been hit by the changes in funding for Public Law.