Following a period of slow economic growth and in some cases pay freezes, reduced or cancelled bonuses, the news that salaries are on the increase again will be welcomed by most lawyers. Junior and mid-level analysts, associates and in-house lawyers all saw salary increases; according to the latest salary survey released by Robert Walters on Friday. Interestingly though, vice president and director salaries were decreased from an average starting figure of $165k-$185k to just $140k-$160k. The top salary bracket, for those with experience, fell from $380k during 2010 to $350k for 2011.

Analysts and junior private practice lawyers were generally awarded a $10k increase in starting salary, up from $50k to $60k and managers can expect to start on around $110k, up from $90k-$100k in 2010. At the upper level, analysts were paid anything up to $110k and managers up to $200k. Corporate real estate associates received $90k, while intellectual property associates were only paid up to $95k. These were the only two areas of the legal survey where no associates were reported to have received $100k.

The moderate increases and decrease in director level pay were attributed to firms looking at retention of staff and examining other non-financial benefits they can offer to retain valuable employees. This was also highlighted as an area firms need to keep in focus going forward into 2011. “Organisations are looking into other creative strategies such as lifestyle benefits, flexible work schemes and sabbatical leave,” the report said.

Overall, the highest salary increases were in the in-house categories. Legal teams in the financial services sector were paid $20k more than in 2010, starting at $60k instead of $40k in 2010. Managers in these categories also earned a $20-$25k increase, as the starting salary jumped to $100k for those in both investment banking/derivatives and wealth management legal teams. Vice presidents and directors in the investment banking/derivatives category earned up to $450k, the highest of all categories reported. Mandarin speaking lawyers who are able to draft documents in Chinese are also still able to command a premium in corporate in-house roles.

The results also indicate a more general trend with respect to both private practice and in-house recruitment. The hiring activity among law firms and companies with in-house legal departments is rising slowly but steadily. Areas where hiring is expected to increase were listed as private wealth, ISDA, arbitration, private banking and corporate finance. Within the corporate in-house sector, packages were expected to be localised, with subdued growth limited to the IT&T, manufacturing, FMCG and pharmaceutical industries accounting for most hiring activity.

 See below for a breakdown of the average salary per role from the salary survey: