Do corporate lawyers in London really make that much money?

I am still trying to decide which profession to commit to for the next couple of years and money is very important for me. I have choices to make and I have to say that money is the key driving factor for me. I appreciate that partners make a ridiculous amount of money, but what about the average lawyers in general in the regions and London?

I am still trying to decide which profession to commit to for the next couple of years and money is very important for me. I have choices to make and I have to say that money is the key driving factor for me. I appreciate that partners make a ridiculous amount of money, but what about the average lawyers in general in the regions and London?

Magic Circle lawyers do but you have to be incredibly intelligent to get in generally and have excellent academic credentials. I know one guy who is older and he works for one and he was consistently working 15 hour days and I think he is really struggling. Elsewhere, I think you earn a fair amount if you're a partner yes, even regional

As I thought. I am a law student chasing a first in the upcoming final year, but I want to go into a profession where I have maximum earning potential with the qualifications I have.

Basically, I haven't got the perfect academic history Magic Circle firms require. I dossed around with alcohol, girls, etc, during my GCSE, A-Level and first year of university. I managed to get into Law at a well respected Russell Group university with less than AAB because I had extenuating circumstances. But i picked up my act in second year and got a mix of 2.1 and first class grades.


Basically, I know I am very intelligent ability wise, but the candidates to magic circle firms are better i think at this moment in time because they have spent so many years focussing on a perfect academic record which i don't have. So really, i am paying for my past.

What other careers are you looking at?

As I thought. I am a law student chasing a first in the upcoming final year, but I want to go into a profession where I have maximum earning potential with the qualifications I have.

Basically, I haven't got the perfect academic history Magic Circle firms require. I dossed around with alcohol, girls, etc, during my GCSE, A-Level and first year of university. I managed to get into Law at a well respected Russell Group university with less than AAB because I had extenuating circumstances. But i picked up my act in second year and got a mix of 2.1 and first class grades.


Basically, I know I am very intelligent ability wise, but the candidates to magic circle firms are better i think at this moment in time because they have spent so many years focussing on a perfect academic record which i don't have. So really, i am paying for my past.

If you're a penultimate year why not send in some TC applications for a range of firms over the next month and just see what comes of it? You never know is someone might just like your application and you then impress at interview

Due to law's slightly ridiculous recruitment cycle it's not like doing takes away time you could be applying for stockbroking. You've got nothing to lose by sending in 9-10 applications to something like 2 MC, 2 SC, 1 American, 3 City and a couple of Regionals (possibly in your university city if that isn't London).

Yeah, will try that. But, I am not really too sold by the legal profession. It's secure in terms of the money, but it hits a flatline and the profession and myself do have to be right for each other.

I also don't want to go in crying about my extenuating circumstances, or my **** grades in first year (i got thirds, and ended up with a 2.2).


I want somewhere which judges me on my ability and not on my academic past which is what the the magic circle firms and similar seem to do, which is fair, but its not right for me personally. I am not the great academic they seem to want, I am more a business minded guy. Yes, i can get firsts if i tried, but its just not me.

i think if you are considering going into law just for the money, then i you should probs rethink it as a career choice

if money is the overriding factor for the career you choose and you are not bothered about having any type of work & life balance then id suggest to start networking today to help secure an internship / benson job in the city,

its probably a lot harder now to start from a benson job and make your way up than it used to be - but there are some family friends we have who started off with benson jobs, making tea in a brokers house or whatever, then gradually made their way up to stock broker, then moved on to become an md/some other high up position at some japanese investment bank.

Yeah, will try that. But, I am not really too sold by the legal profession. It's secure in terms of the money, but it hits a flatline and the profession and myself do have to be right for each other.

I also don't want to go in crying about my extenuating circumstances, or my **** grades in first year (i got thirds, and ended up with a 2.2).


I want somewhere which judges me on my ability and not on my academic past which is what the the magic circle firms and similar seem to do, which is fair, but its not right for me personally. I am not the great academic they seem to want, I am more a business minded guy. Yes, i can get firsts if i tried, but its just not me.

As I thought. I am a law student chasing a first in the upcoming final year, but I want to go into a profession where I have maximum earning potential with the qualifications I have.

Basically, I haven't got the perfect academic history Magic Circle firms require. I dossed around with alcohol, girls, etc, during my GCSE, A-Level and first year of university. I managed to get into Law at a well respected Russell Group university with less than AAB because I had extenuating circumstances. But i picked up my act in second year and got a mix of 2.1 and first class grades.


Basically, I know I am very intelligent ability wise, but the candidates to magic circle firms are better i think at this moment in time because they have spent so many years focussing on a perfect academic record which i don't have. So really, i am paying for my past.

You seem to have an unnerving sense of entitlement- you're doing a law degree at a russell group uni and you can't be bothered to get the firsts that you claim you're capable of, yet you speak as though you deserve a position in some of the highest paid graduate jobs?

You claim to have all of these abilities but without demonstrating them academically (or otherwise) how is your potential employer to know of your apparent brilliance? You also seem to be forgetting that in the world of work employers aren't just looking for someone bright, they're looking for someone with commitment and the aptitude to apply themselves.

What makes you worthy of these positions over someone who has worked considerably harder?

with professions, you have to have some level of genuine interest in them to be able to roll out of bed at 5 30 am, get to work for 7 and leave 12 hours later. to do that for years the job itself has to have some intrinsic meaning for you i think. sure there are doctors and lawyers etc that dont like their day job, but they stimulate themselves with their work in other ways with pro bono / medecins sans frontieres or whatever floats their boat.

i just have a feeling that if you end up working for a law firm, people will be able to tell that you dont have any part of your heart in it, they will probably be able to tell when they interview you before you even get the job no matter how much spin and dogdoo you throw at them

but anyway, only you can know what you want to do/ what desires you have and what drives you. not anyone else on an internet forum who has never me you/spoken with you at length

but doing a job you enjoy increases your chances of success in that job as a general rule.

although i dont think anyone in investment banking etc actually enjoys their job. its just that they can deal with huge amounts of stress, insane work hours, perform under huge amounts of pressure and get pleasure from seeing their 100 percent bonus in their account.

I am still trying to decide which profession to commit to for the next couple of years and money is very important for me. I have choices to make and I have to say that money is the key driving factor for me. I appreciate that partners make a ridiculous amount of money, but what about the average lawyers in general in the regions and London?

No they don't.

Looking at partner salaries is extraordinarily misguided - I did it myself.

Training contracts at City firms have about a 80% retention rate. They then have about 10-20% leaving each year PQE. Yes, lawyers do move to other firms, but law firms are like pyramids which are getting ever pointier. Most have an up or out policy. So yes, partners or those who have a share in the profits of the firm can make lots of money, but it's like betting on the lottery. There are easier ways to make money than this - even setting up your own business.

Lawyers do tend to stay in law, but when they leave they tend to take a pay cut to a still decent salary in-house depending on the level of experience, 50k+. But with 5-10PQE+ experience in an MC it's not too tricky to find jobs 100k+. My data on in-house salaries isn't bang up to the minute though.

You can see what lawyers make on ROF and other sites in the training years and years within 5PQE.

However, your question was do they actually make much money. And in real terms; no! 100k after tax is close to 60k. Income tax is progressive, i.e. higher salaries have greater percentages taken away in tax. Generally that means after doing the GDL/LPC, a two year training contract, practicing for 7-10 years, in your 30s, you'll be getting 60k after tax; is that good money for you? Do you think that's a good trade off for the hours you'll have to work? Many do.

It also depends on lifestyle choices. On the one hand, some lawyers have money coming into the bank and they never have the time to spend it; so they have more money in their bank accounts. On the other hand, other lawyers on the same salary do manage to spend most of their money depending, for example, on their rent/mortgage rates. I know of associates in big firms who live on baked beans when it comes to the end of the month.
It's also true the greater the income, the greater the fixed costs and sometimes the less disposable income. For instance, a 4 bed house in Putney, having 2/3 kids in private school is going to leave the average lawyer working 50-80 hours a week with little disposable income. It's a comfortable lifestyle, but lesser paid jobs involving a tweak in the lifestyle, i.e. putting the kids in state (maybe grammar) schools will lead to the same or better.

Self-employed get greater benefits in terms of income tax, i.e they can claim back expenses and there are easy ways to avoid it almost altogether through companies and trusts. However, lawyers do still get much of their lives put on expenses.

So yes, if you become a senior partner in a City firm you'll be making huge amounts of money. However, most lawyers don't ever earn that much. And most professions are the top end have high earners over 100k, i.e. HR directors, Marketing directors, headhunters, management consultancy, IT directors...

To cut a long response short, I don't want kids. However, i grew up accustomed to my parents making at least 200k a year in the 90's. I don't want to be a failure compared to them so its why i'm trying so hard to work to their standards. I don't want to be seen as the failure when most of my family are self made millionaires. That is my motivation.