Law Society recommends 4% salary increase for rookie solicitors
Minimum of £23,703 in London and £21,024 elsewhere

The Law Society has recommended a 4% rise to the minimum salary for trainee solicitors across England and Wales.
The Chancery Lane bigwigs say rookies undertaking a training contract or qualifying work experience (QWE) should now be paid at least £23,703 in London and £21,024 outside of the capital. The new rates come into effect on 1 September 2022.
But like with all the Law Society’s recommended uplifts, the new pay levels are completely unenforceable — i.e. firms can simply ignore them — following the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) decision in 2014 to scrap statutory minimums.
“This increase in the recommended salary for aspiring solicitors is considered to be appropriate at this time,” Law Society vice president Lubna Shuja said. “It is expected that the rise in inflation will continue. There are a range of factors which will have to be taken into account during our discussions around the minimum salary policy and uplift next year, including the rising cost-of-living expenses and the economic impact that has had, and will have, on solicitors’ businesses.”
Continuing, Shuja said the Society is “pleased to see some legal businesses have taken steps to offer one-off hardship payments to lower-salaried employees”, which will “go some way to relieving the strain on junior lawyers’ finances”.
Research published last year found that 20% of rookies in London and 16% of trainees in the regions were being paid below the current minimums of £22,794 and £20,217.
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14 Comments
Every City lawyer
lol
Every other lawyer
Lol at your lifestyle. Enjoy thinking about your divorce while tucking into your cold deliveroo and third red bull of the night at 3:00am, while I’m at home asleep.
Anon
Would you like more salt on your ready meal?
Anonymous
Shouldn’t the honest ones get paid more, after all you do t do much investigation in to the right ones anyway…. Lol
Regulation
If a solicitor does not report another solicitor for potential dishonesty and/ or potential regulation breaches, then that solicitor would also be in breach of regulations
Insurance
If you breach your regulations knowingly, your not insured
Hmmmm!
Kirkland NQ
4% uptick in my salary will push me past the 200k mark! Yes!
In the Inns
I thought you made proper money?
Anon
Considering an aventador costs £280k, turns out you can’t afford a lambo after all!
not a Kirkland NQ
wouldn’t get out of bed for that
Kirkland NQ (not a fresher or anything ahaha!)
That’s PENNIES 🤣🤣🤣 is that what they pay those AMBULANCE CHASERS nowadays? (Tweeting this from my Lambo aha)
Kirkland NQ Investigator
One can only assume he is a graduate seeking a TC because anyone in Associate level onwards surely wouldn’t have the capacity to keep up that persona
That or he’s a LegalCheek member of staff doing a big funny
K&E Associate
Actual associate in the PE team here but I do enjoy commenting here and there..
STB Associate
The recommendation is addressed to A&O and Links. We top firm associates ought to disregard this.
Truth about the high street
Rightly so, many firms in London still pay below this level.
Anonymous
This is pathetic. That should be the absolute minimum for PARALEGALS, let alone trainees. Shocking that paralegals can earn as low as £14k across the country. When will the SRA step in and stop firms abusing paralegals financially, while cashing in on £150+ charge-out rates!? Absolute minimum for trainees should be £25k regions, £30k London. Sort it out.
Comments are closed.