Salary Guide

Legal Executives - Yorkshire

Our unique position in the Legal Executive marketplace has allowed us to carry out comprehensive research into salary levels amongst Legal Executives throughout Yorkshire.

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. For example: current buoyant areas are commercial property and conveyancing. These areas can often attract higher rates of remuneration. Alternatively, both Claimant and Defendant personal Injury is beginning to slow down, which can also affect salary levels. Areas such as Immigration and Matrimonial are fairly constant and thus remain relatively unaffected by market forces.

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 of what you bill.

Family
Relatively little change in this area, few opportunities with fierce competition. Increased opportunities for Fellows.

Wills & Probate
Traditionally, Legal Executives are well recognised in this field. Specialists with good track records and experience in Tax and Trusts can expect higher salaries. Fewer candidates are entering into this field but salaries and career opportunities are excellent.

Debt Recovery
Increase in the number of vacancies at the back end of 2007 particularly in property related recoveries. Still not the best paid area due to a pretty static market for a number of years but this likely to change with the increase of new vacancies.

Property
The dip in the housing market in the second half of 2007 has resulted in fewer roles in residential conveyancing. As a result competition has increased for roles so salaries haven’t increased as much as in previous years.

Personal Injury
After a quiet couple of years 2007 saw an increase in the number of PI roles in the Yorkshire region particularly for defendant fee earners. Salaries are good for those with experience of EL & PL and claimant RTA fee earners can top up their salaries with performance related bonuses. .

Crime
Shortage of Police Station Accredited Clerks has meant that salaries are slightly higher if you have this qualification although this area of law has been very quiet in Yorkshire.