Senior in-house lawyers have fared much worse than their junior colleagues in the pay stakes over recent years, research has suggested.

The average salary for a UK in-house lawyer with 10 years’ post-qualification experience (PQE) dropped 7% between 2004 and 2010, to £89,000 from £95,500, according to research by legal recruiters Laurence Simons. The average salary for an in-house lawyer with nine years’ PQE dropped 5% to £84,750 over the same period.

Meanwhile, the average salary for an in-house lawyer with four years’ PQE jumped 14% to £65,000 from £57,000; and for those with five years’ PQE, the average rose 7% to £70,500 from £65,750.

Laurence Simons managing director Naveen Tuli said: ‘Many people assume senior lawyers suffered the least during the downturn but as far as in-house roles go, that’s wrong. Over the last 18 months or so, those companies that have been in the fortunate position to be hiring in-house staff have tended to focus on those with slightly less experience.’

According to Laurence Simons, the median salaries for UK in-house lawyers are:

  • Two years’ PQE: £51,750
  • Three years’ PQE: £57,750
  • Four years’ PQE: £65,000
  • Five years’ PQE: £70,500
  • Six years’ PQE: £74,250
  • Seven years’ PQE: £77,750
  • Eight years’ PQE: £81,000
  • Nine years’ PQE: £84,750
  • 10 years’ PQE: £89,000

Laurence Simons director Rachael North said that higher salaries are ‘particularly noticeable’ in the technology and telecoms sectors. ‘The increasingly rapid pace of digitisation and the widespread adoption of mobile broadband have meant the telecoms and technology sectors have ridden out the global downturn relatively well,’ she said. ‘Although 2009 saw some salary freezes and non-payment of bonuses, in 2010 the market has shown slow, but steady signs of improvement.’

Within the Eurozone, the highest salaries at all levels are in Ireland, the research found. The worst paid in-house lawyers with less than three years’ experience are in Spain, and the worst paid in-house lawyers with more than three years’ experience are in Poland.

The largest increases across salary bands from five years’ to 10 years’ PQE were in the Middle East, with the five years’ band rising 41% to €173,000 from €123,000. In Russia, pay at the two years’ PQE level shot up 81% to €45,250 from €25,000.

Meanwhile, in Belgium, two years’ PQE salaries fell 29% while salaries in the four years’ PQE band fell 26%. In Spain and the US, average salaries at the three years’ PQE level fell 9% to $122,500 from $135,000. The average 10 years’ PQE salary in Germany fell 31% to €93,750 in 2010, from €135,000 in 2008.

Laurence Simons predicted that Latin America, and specifically Brazil, will drive international growth in in-house legal jobs over the coming year.

Data was collected between 2006 and 2010 from more than 14,000 in-house lawyers across the world.