Closing the gap

The traditional pay gap between private practice and in-house pay is shrinking, according to Towers Watson’s Legal Salary Report released this week.

Although base pay within private law firms is still significantly higher, generous bonus and benefit schemes boost earnings in the corporate environment so that total rewards are often more competitive for in-house lawyers. The report also shows that the legal sector is increasingly adopting a performance-based approach to pay.

Philip Hough, senior consultant in Towers Watson’s Data Services team, says: “We are seeing a shift away from the old post-qualification experience pay model as law firms find that if they want to attract and retain the most valuable employees they have to differentiate their pay structure in order to reward the top talent.”