One in five trainee solicitors in London are being paid less than the suggested minimum salary despite ‘unprecedented wage inflation’ in the legal sector, according to research.

Douglas Scott Legal Recruitment said that 20% of trainees based in the capital are paid below the Law Society’s recommended minimum annual salary of £22,794.

The proportion of trainees in London paid below the suggested salary was the same as in 2021, when it was also 20%, but the average shortfall increased from £2,816 last year to £2,914.

But Douglas Scott found that the situation for trainees working outside of London has ‘improved significantly’, with 16% earning below the recommended minimum of £20,217 compared with 25% in 2021. The average shortfall in pay for trainees outside of the capital also fell from £2,638 in 2021 to £1,452.

The Law Society is expected to review its recommended minimum salary rates in June, with the outcome likely to be published in July or August.

Douglas Scott’s study found that trainees in London were paid on average £34,930, up from £32,190 last year, while in the regions average salary increased from £23,300 to £26,336.

However, it also found that demands on trainees in London have increased, with junior lawyers in the capital working an average 44-hour week, compared with 41.5 hours a week in the regions.

Jonathan Nolan, associate director at Douglas Scott, said: ‘The last 18 months or so, the demand for talent has resulted in salary increases across all practice areas and job types. Legal is no different from other business sectors in that respect. The main driver for the increase in pay for trainees living outside London is likely to be trickle down as opposed to altruism.

‘Unfortunately, some of London’s law firms are failing to read the room, leaving many of its trainee solicitors living close to the breadline and I fear the next Law Society recommended increase, with inflation so high, will see many more fall below the threshold.’

A mandatory minimum salary used to be set by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, however this was abolished in 2014 and the SRA now stipulates only that trainees are paid the national living wage.

 

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