Bullying ordeal of one-year qualifieds.

By Victoria MacCallum

Almost one in every five one-year qualified solicitors has experienced workplace bullying, according to new research which also highlighted an emerging pay gap between the sexes.

The Law Society report found that after pay parity as trainees, female solicitors across the profession are seeing their pay rise by an average of 16,000 in their first three years after qualification, compared to male solicitors' 17,850.

The report was the sixth cohort study, which has been following 3,000 law degree and common professional examination students through their training since 1993.

It found that in-house solicitors are bearing the brunt of bullying, with 34% of in-house respondents claiming to have experienced it, compared to only 10% in private practice.

One in seven women (14%) reported intimidation compared to 6% of men.

In total, 11% of the 1,500 respondents at all levels of qualification said they had been subject to bullying.

The survey's authors stressed that the findings should be 'treated carefully' due to their 'perceptual' nature.

In nine out of ten cases, the bully was a senior colleague, and almost three-quarters of respondents (71%) claimed the reason for bullying was their sex.

The second most common reason was age, followed by social class and background.

Barry Pritchard, the co-ordinator of solicitors' support group SolCare, said: 'Bullying is certainly an issue that needs to be watched.' In his experience, the bully is 'just as likely to be a workplace colleague as it is a senior partner'.

The survey's authors said that the growing disparity in pay between the sexes was partly to do with the fact that women tended to join smaller - and less well paid - firms.

Susan Pape, chairwoman of the Association of Women Solicitors, said she was notsurprised at the finding.

'Even though more women than men are entering the profession, many firms still see men as having better partnership prospects, and so they tend to pay them better to keep them on side,' she said.

Women with children were found to have a particularly difficult time.

They are seven times as likely as non-mothers to be left without employment after qualification - and this was not a case of mothers leaving the profession.

'There was little evidence of a widespread preference among mothers not to work,' the report said.

The report also drew attention to the culture of long hours, with a third of newly qualified solicitors regularly working for more than 50 hours a week.

Law Society President Michael Napier warned: 'These young solicitors are the solicitors of the future - firms must be aware of the pressures under which they operate, and we must all takeresponsibility for nurturing their talents for the future.'

However, it was not all was doom and gloom for the new generation: the vast majority (80%) declared themselves 'very' or 'quite' satisfied with their overall career development, their income and the support received.