This week: from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Paul rogerson

Paul Rogerson

Tales of eye-watering pay hikes for City NQs are now resonating in the mainstream media. Sir Nigel Knowles, CEO of DWF and former chair of DLA, is the latest to opine on the subject. He warned in the Financial Times that throwing money at this elite cadre is but a ‘sticking plaster’, urging City firms to do something about workloads.

My colleague John Hyde said much the same in this space last week. They are not wrong; and nor am I unsympathetic. But several rungs down the earnings ladder, there is a subset of junior who could be forgiven for thinking this Faustian bargain is, well, a bargain.

Solicitor Greg Stewart of London firm GT Stewart pointed out in the same newspaper that whereas the starting salary for a City NQ has hit £150,000, a newly qualified criminal lawyer gets £30,000 — less than the national average wage. ‘And that comes with the added “perks” of no generous pension top-up, no private medical insurance, no gym or fancy kitchen, oh, and a crumbling court building to work in,’ said Stewart.

Context is all. Sir Nigel points out that City firms risk losing the next generation of talent to more congenial employers, like fintech, an ecommerce start-up or ESG consultancy. Stewart laments that crime trainees will be lost to the Crown Prosecution Service, Government Legal Service or the Midwifery Council.

They are both right – but that’s just market forces, yes?

No. With respect, it is the criminal lawyers whose work is more critical to the proper functioning of civil society. We just can’t do without them. M&As might matter in terms of the efficient allocation of capital, but fewer deals won’t deadlock justice.

A Law Society survey shows that several English counties do not have a single duty solicitor under 35. As criminal barristers ballot on direct action, the time for prevarication is surely over. Criminal lawyers need to be paid more, immediately, without further blandishment and bluster.

Solicitors are restricted by their legal aid contracts and their retainers with their clients in terms of what action they can take to support barristers. But support them they should, however they can.

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