Survey on retention issues within the legal profession
Introduction
In Autumn 2018 the Scottish Young Lawyers' Association undertook a survey of their membership to identify the issue with retaining junior lawyers within the profession in Scotland. 225 responses were received.
Demographic
In order to obtain an understanding of the demographic of the respondents the first question asked respondents to identify a geographical area with which they identified. The majority of responses came from those living in the Central Belt with around 45% of those being from Edinburgh and 32% from Glasgow. Almost 7% were from Aberdeen, around 4% from Dundee and the remainder were based elsewhere.
Some of those who responded were already practising outside of Scotland and included some in London and others in the Channel Islands and Middle East.
Of those who answered an equal number of trainee solicitors and solicitors between 0-2 years PQE responsed. These respondents made up around two thirds of the total respondents. Around 16% were between 2-5 years PQE and 18.5% were 5 or more years PQE.
Current Position
We are aware our members have raised issues about a number of aspects of their roles and we sought to understand some of these before attempting to gauge the real problems which are causing people to consider a career outside of Scotland or the legal profession.
Salary
222 of those who responded anonymously gave their gross salary. At present the Law Society recommends a minimum salary for first year trainees of £19,000 this year. 11 people who submitted their salary were paid below this level. This is approximately 5% of respondents.
Of those solicitors with between 0-2 years PQE, the salaries varied between £22,000 - £58,000 in Scotland. Those practising in London earned between £60,000 and £127,000.
Salaries for those between 2-5 years PQE varied between £30,000 to £54,000 in Scotland, with English equivalent salaries between £54,000 and 63,000. Those practising in the Middle East could expect to earn up to £85,000.
This shows an interesting comparison between the gaps in salary present at NQ level and the gap for more experienced yet still junior solicitors.
Those classing themselves as 5 years + PQE are more difficult to analyse as the specific number of years were not recorded. These salaries ranged from £27,000 to £150,000.
Those qualifying into civil litigation could expect a starting salary no lower than £25,000. The highest earner in the 2-5 year bracket brought home a gross salary of £80,000.
Corporate and commercial NQs could expect a minimum salary of £22,000 and those in the 2-5 year had a maximum salary of £45,000. However, the highest paid respondent practising this area of law in Scotland earned £61,000.
The lowest salary for a newly qualified criminal solicitor was £25,000 and the highest in this bracket was £40,000. There were insufficient reponses for solicitors in the 2-5 year category. The highest paid respondent with over 5 years PQE earned £90,000.
The lowest salary for an NQ solicitor practising private client work was £30,000 and highest was around £40,000. There were no respondents within the 2-5 year category. The highest paid private client solicitor to respond earned £150,000.
Of newly qualified solicitors in the property sector, the lowest earner brought home £33,500 before tax. The highest in this bracket earned £40,000. Of those between 2 and 5 years PQE, the minimum was £37,000 and the highest was £62,000.
Newly qualified solicitors
For the purpose of this survey we classified solicitors with 0-2 years PQE as 'newly qualified'. In Scotland, their salaries ranged between £22,000 and £58,000. In London the range was between £60,000 and £127,000.
2-5 years PQE
In the middle bracket were those with between 2 and 5 years PQE. The salaries in Scotland ranged between £27,000 and £54,000. Those practising in England earned between £54,000 and £63,000. Those in the Middle East earned up to £85,000.
Over 5 years PQE
The range in this bracket is harder to analyse but respondents in Scotland earned between £27,000 and £150,000. There were no respondents who practised law outside of Scotland who identified as 5 years+ PQE.
By specialism
We looked at the salaries at newly qualified level in Scotland. On average property solicitors earned the highest wage with criminal solicitors earning the lowest. The difference between these average salaries was £11,180.
For those in the 2-5 year PQE category the lowest average income was earned by civil litigation lawyers. The highest income on average was earned by corporate lawyers. There was insufficient data for criminal and private client areas.
Of those with over 5 years PQE the highest earner practiced private client law. The lowest earner practised criminal law.
By location
Using data from NQ – 2 years PQE we analysed the salary variation based on location. The average income for an Edinburgh based lawyer was £32,520. In Aberdeen this figure was £33,866. In Dundee the average was £31,000 and in Glasgow the figure was £62,440. In other areas of Scotland the average was £28,765. Outside of Scotland the average was £69,333.
Work life balance
We asked respondents to estimate how many hours on average the spent working per week. The average was 36.84, however the maximum number of hours per week was 50 and the minimum was 24.
This varied between the level of PQE and the type of work being undertaken.
Response
Leaving the law
Over 75% of those surveyed have considered a career outside of law since commencing their traineeship and over 60% stated they were actively considering the move or would consider it in the future.
147 respondents took the time to give their reasons. Almost 30% said they had considered the move in order to achieve a work-life balance and almost equal numbers sighted poor pay or compensation. Around 10% considered a move as they felt there was limited career progression within the legal sector. Almost 12% cited stress as a contributing factor. Other factors included regulation of the profession, political issues and legal aid rates.
Leaving Scotland
Over 65% of respondents said they have considered practising law outside of Scotland with 40% actively considering or would consider in the future. 103 people gave a detailed response to the question. Of those, over 15% had considered practising in London and almost 30% had considered England more generally. Almost 18% of respondent had contemplated practising in North America, almost 8% in the Middle East and almost 5% in the Channel Islands.
Unsurprisingly, almost 37% of respondents cited pay as one of their main considerations. Almost 24% cited a better work-life balance and over 17% cited better quality of work. Over 18% of respondents thought there were better career prospects and job opportunities outside of Scotland.
The Association decided to look further into the issue of poor pay following the requests of our members. In order to assess whether pay was realistically better outside of Scotland we undertook a comparison of rental costs vs income North and South of the border. The average rent for a property in Edinburgh was found to be £1,558 per calendar month. [1] The average salary for a qualified solicitor in Edinburgh is £47,044. [2] The average rent for a property in Leeds is £1,110 per calendar month[3] but the average lawyer's salary is £54,723.[4] The contrast is even more substantial in Birmingham where the average lawyer is paid £53,528[5] but the average rent is only £857per month.[6]
This indicates that not only would a lawyer tend to earn more working in cities South of the border but they would likely have more disposable income.
[1] Home.co.uk as of 30 May 2019
[2] Adzuna Salary Stats Centre, as of 30 May 2019
[3] Home.co.uk as of 30 May 2019
[4] Adzuna Salary Stats Centre, as of 30 May 2019
[5] Adzuna Salary Stats Centre, as of 30 May 2019
[6] Home.co.uk as of 30 May 2019
In Autumn 2018 the Scottish Young Lawyers' Association undertook a survey of their membership to identify the issue with retaining junior lawyers within the profession in Scotland. 225 responses were received.
Demographic
In order to obtain an understanding of the demographic of the respondents the first question asked respondents to identify a geographical area with which they identified. The majority of responses came from those living in the Central Belt with around 45% of those being from Edinburgh and 32% from Glasgow. Almost 7% were from Aberdeen, around 4% from Dundee and the remainder were based elsewhere.
Some of those who responded were already practising outside of Scotland and included some in London and others in the Channel Islands and Middle East.
Of those who answered an equal number of trainee solicitors and solicitors between 0-2 years PQE responsed. These respondents made up around two thirds of the total respondents. Around 16% were between 2-5 years PQE and 18.5% were 5 or more years PQE.
Current Position
We are aware our members have raised issues about a number of aspects of their roles and we sought to understand some of these before attempting to gauge the real problems which are causing people to consider a career outside of Scotland or the legal profession.
Salary
222 of those who responded anonymously gave their gross salary. At present the Law Society recommends a minimum salary for first year trainees of £19,000 this year. 11 people who submitted their salary were paid below this level. This is approximately 5% of respondents.
Of those solicitors with between 0-2 years PQE, the salaries varied between £22,000 - £58,000 in Scotland. Those practising in London earned between £60,000 and £127,000.
Salaries for those between 2-5 years PQE varied between £30,000 to £54,000 in Scotland, with English equivalent salaries between £54,000 and 63,000. Those practising in the Middle East could expect to earn up to £85,000.
This shows an interesting comparison between the gaps in salary present at NQ level and the gap for more experienced yet still junior solicitors.
Those classing themselves as 5 years + PQE are more difficult to analyse as the specific number of years were not recorded. These salaries ranged from £27,000 to £150,000.
Those qualifying into civil litigation could expect a starting salary no lower than £25,000. The highest earner in the 2-5 year bracket brought home a gross salary of £80,000.
Corporate and commercial NQs could expect a minimum salary of £22,000 and those in the 2-5 year had a maximum salary of £45,000. However, the highest paid respondent practising this area of law in Scotland earned £61,000.
The lowest salary for a newly qualified criminal solicitor was £25,000 and the highest in this bracket was £40,000. There were insufficient reponses for solicitors in the 2-5 year category. The highest paid respondent with over 5 years PQE earned £90,000.
The lowest salary for an NQ solicitor practising private client work was £30,000 and highest was around £40,000. There were no respondents within the 2-5 year category. The highest paid private client solicitor to respond earned £150,000.
Of newly qualified solicitors in the property sector, the lowest earner brought home £33,500 before tax. The highest in this bracket earned £40,000. Of those between 2 and 5 years PQE, the minimum was £37,000 and the highest was £62,000.
Newly qualified solicitors
For the purpose of this survey we classified solicitors with 0-2 years PQE as 'newly qualified'. In Scotland, their salaries ranged between £22,000 and £58,000. In London the range was between £60,000 and £127,000.
2-5 years PQE
In the middle bracket were those with between 2 and 5 years PQE. The salaries in Scotland ranged between £27,000 and £54,000. Those practising in England earned between £54,000 and £63,000. Those in the Middle East earned up to £85,000.
Over 5 years PQE
The range in this bracket is harder to analyse but respondents in Scotland earned between £27,000 and £150,000. There were no respondents who practised law outside of Scotland who identified as 5 years+ PQE.
By specialism
We looked at the salaries at newly qualified level in Scotland. On average property solicitors earned the highest wage with criminal solicitors earning the lowest. The difference between these average salaries was £11,180.
For those in the 2-5 year PQE category the lowest average income was earned by civil litigation lawyers. The highest income on average was earned by corporate lawyers. There was insufficient data for criminal and private client areas.
Of those with over 5 years PQE the highest earner practiced private client law. The lowest earner practised criminal law.
By location
Using data from NQ – 2 years PQE we analysed the salary variation based on location. The average income for an Edinburgh based lawyer was £32,520. In Aberdeen this figure was £33,866. In Dundee the average was £31,000 and in Glasgow the figure was £62,440. In other areas of Scotland the average was £28,765. Outside of Scotland the average was £69,333.
Work life balance
We asked respondents to estimate how many hours on average the spent working per week. The average was 36.84, however the maximum number of hours per week was 50 and the minimum was 24.
This varied between the level of PQE and the type of work being undertaken.
Response
Leaving the law
Over 75% of those surveyed have considered a career outside of law since commencing their traineeship and over 60% stated they were actively considering the move or would consider it in the future.
147 respondents took the time to give their reasons. Almost 30% said they had considered the move in order to achieve a work-life balance and almost equal numbers sighted poor pay or compensation. Around 10% considered a move as they felt there was limited career progression within the legal sector. Almost 12% cited stress as a contributing factor. Other factors included regulation of the profession, political issues and legal aid rates.
Leaving Scotland
Over 65% of respondents said they have considered practising law outside of Scotland with 40% actively considering or would consider in the future. 103 people gave a detailed response to the question. Of those, over 15% had considered practising in London and almost 30% had considered England more generally. Almost 18% of respondent had contemplated practising in North America, almost 8% in the Middle East and almost 5% in the Channel Islands.
Unsurprisingly, almost 37% of respondents cited pay as one of their main considerations. Almost 24% cited a better work-life balance and over 17% cited better quality of work. Over 18% of respondents thought there were better career prospects and job opportunities outside of Scotland.
The Association decided to look further into the issue of poor pay following the requests of our members. In order to assess whether pay was realistically better outside of Scotland we undertook a comparison of rental costs vs income North and South of the border. The average rent for a property in Edinburgh was found to be £1,558 per calendar month. [1] The average salary for a qualified solicitor in Edinburgh is £47,044. [2] The average rent for a property in Leeds is £1,110 per calendar month[3] but the average lawyer's salary is £54,723.[4] The contrast is even more substantial in Birmingham where the average lawyer is paid £53,528[5] but the average rent is only £857per month.[6]
This indicates that not only would a lawyer tend to earn more working in cities South of the border but they would likely have more disposable income.
[1] Home.co.uk as of 30 May 2019
[2] Adzuna Salary Stats Centre, as of 30 May 2019
[3] Home.co.uk as of 30 May 2019
[4] Adzuna Salary Stats Centre, as of 30 May 2019
[5] Adzuna Salary Stats Centre, as of 30 May 2019
[6] Home.co.uk as of 30 May 2019