salary surveys

Brightwater Legal Salary Survey for Ireland 2007

Brightwater was established in Ireland in 1998 and quickly became one of Ireland’s leading professional recruitment consultancies. Their Legal Division opened in 2001 and is now the preferred supplier of legal professionals for in-house, private practice and public sector positions.

Brightwater supply private practice, public sector and in-house clients with legal professionals at all levels, from legal executives to newly qualifieds and Managing Partners, on both a temporary and permanent basis. Their experienced team of consultants includes a qualified lawyer as well as expert consultants with blue-chip recruitment experience in the UK, Ireland and the US.

Large/Specialist Firms

Job Title	Dublin €	Cork €	Belfast £
Salaried Partner	105,000 - 150,000	100,000 - 160,000	45,000 - 75,000
Solicitor PQE 6+	80,000 - 150,000	60,000 - 90,000	35,000 +
Solicitor PQE 4-6	65,000 - 80,000	55,000 - 70,000	28,000 - 40,000
Solicitor PQE 2-4	58,000 - 70,000	45,000 - 60,000	23,000 - 30,000
Solicitor PQE 1-2	51,000 - 62,000	40,000 - 45,000	20,000 - 24,000
NQ Solicitor	47,000 - 55,000	35,000 - 42,000	18,500 - 22,000
Company Secretary 2-4 years’experience	30,000 - 60,000	30,000 - 40,000	N/A
Company Secretary 1-2 years’ experience	25,000 - 30,000	25,000 - 30,000	N/A
Legal Executive/Paralegal >3 years’ experience	35,000 - 50,000	30,000 - 40,000	16,000 - 20,000
Legal Executive/ Paralegal <3 years’ experience	26,000 - 35,000	25,000 - 30,000	13,000 - 16,000

Once again, Commercial Property has been the “in-demand” area of expertise. All sized firms are looking for commercial property lawyers to bolster their departments. This has resulted in large increases in salaries for lawyers with experience in this particular area. Due to the
commercial boom in Cork, Munster is also seeing a very high demand for experienced commercial solicitors. It is easier to attract these solicitors on behalf of clients via an advertised campaign as they are mainly sourced from the Dublin market.

As has been the norm in the market for the last few years, there is still a shortage of corporate and financial services lawyers, with funds lawyers in particular demanding salaries over the industry average for their level of PQE. The area of commercial litigation remains steady with little movement at the lower end of the market but experienced lawyers (5+ years’ PQE) are still commanding solid salaries.

Medium/General Practice Firms

Job Title	Dublin €	Cork €	Belfast £
Salaried Partner	80,000 - 100,000	90,000 - 140,000	45,000 - 75,000
Solicitor PQE 6+	70,000 - 100,000	60,000 - 80,000	35,000 +
Solicitor PQE 4-6	60,000 - 70,000	55,000 - 65,000	28,000 - 40,000
Solicitor PQE 2-4	55,000 - 65,000	45,000 - 58,000	22,000 - 30,000
Solicitor PQE 1-2	47,000 - 55,000	40,000 - 45,000	20,000 - 23,000
NQ Solicitor	42,000 - 47,000	35,000 - 42,000	18,500 - 21,000
Company Secretary 2-4 years’experience	30,000 - 50,000	30,000 - 40,000	N/A
Company Secretary 1-2 years’experience	25,000 - 30,000	25,000 - 30,000	N/A
Legal Executive/Paralegal >3 years’ experience	30,000 - 45,000	30,000 - 35,000	15,000 - 19,000
Legal Executive/ Paralegal <3 years’ experience	25,000 - 35,000	25,000 - 30,000	13,000 - 15,000

Residential conveyancing is still the main driving force behind the majority of general practices. The litigation area began to improve slightly toward the end of 2006. This was mainly due to more work being turned back by PIAB or due to more complicated litigations not being able to be resolved during the statutory time limit for PIAB. The trend of many small firms retaining their apprentices continued, which is indicative of a strong market.

The Munster market has seen a steady demand for general practice solicitors while both family law and employment law are growing areas in the region. Salary levels here are very dependent on experience and there is an increasing trend towards attractive bonus schemes for new business gained.

In the North, experienced solicitors continue to be in high demand and short supply, particularly for residential and commercial conveyancing work. Finding candidates for areas outside of Belfast City Centre also poses a challenge for legal practices trying to recruit.

In-House

Job Title	Dublin €	Cork €	Belfast £
Head of Legal T/O >15m	100,000 - 150,000	100,000 - 150,000	52,000 - 70,000
Head of Legal T/O <15m	80,000 - 120,000	70,000 - 95,000	39,000 - 52,000
Senior Transactional Lawyer	90,000 - 120,000	65,000 - 85,000	35,000 - 45,000
Legal Advisor >6 years’ experience	75,000 - 100,000	55,000 - 65,000	30,000 +
Legal Advisor 4-6 years’ experience	60,000 - 75,000	45,000 - 55,000	24,000 - 30,000
Legal Advisor 2-4 years’ experience	50,000 - 65,000	40,000 - 50,000	22,000 - 24,000
NQ Solicitor	42,000 - 48,000	35,000 - 40,000	18,500 - 21,000
Company Secretary 3+ years’ experience	30,000 - 50,000	30,000 - 40,000	22,000 +
Company Secretary 1-2 years’ experience	25,000 - 30,000	25,000 - 30,000	15,000 - 20,000
Legal Executive / Paralegal >3 years’ experience	30,000 - 45,000	23,000 - 30,000	16,000 - 19,000
Legal Executive / Paralegal <3 years’ experience	25,000 - 35,000	23,000 - 30,000	14,000 - 16,000
Legal Graduate	24,000 - 28,000	20,000 - 25,000	12,000 - 14,000

The Irish in-house market continued to grow this year, as many companies recognised the benefits of employing an in-house general counsel. The majority of these roles were newly created positions, while others, especially within the Financial Services arena were due to expansion.

Financial Benefits

It is important to note that not all firms offer bonuses.
For those that do, annual performance related bonuses usually vary between assistant solicitors, associates, senior associates etc. Bonuses can range from 5% to 25% of the base salary. Some firms offer a discretionary Christmas bonus of 1-2 weeks’ pay and some will also offer a car scheme or allowance, the value of which is circa €10,000 per annum for relatively senior staff in the Dublin area. Car parking is not offered by all firms but if offered it will be highlighted at the negotiation stage of an offer.