Salary & Employment Outlook – Legal

More than 2,700 clients from Australia’s major industry sectors have responded to our annual employment and salary survey, shedding light on hiring trends in their respective fields.

We’ve combined their responses with our own expert knowledge to produce a comprehensive industry overview, including these updates on the legal sector:

• Recruitment growth; private practice law firms are experiencing less growth than usual, however, mid and top-tier firms have increased hiring in some areas – overall, a slight majority of employers expect to grow their teams this year compared to those who don’t, at 47% to 43% respectively

• In-demand roles; this year, there has been an increase in hiring for transactional roles within the private practice sector, as well as with compliance firms; generally, those in mid-level, management and specialist roles are experiencing the greatest levels of demand across the sectors

Salary trends; in regards to remuneration, 82% of employers expect salaries to increase for their direct employees this year. This would see a lawyer in a boutique private practice law firm earn an increase on their current salary, which currently starts at around $55k for the lowest level of experience.

Learn more about salary movements and employment in your sector by downloading the full Michael Page Legal Salary & Employment Outlook.