Rutherford Search In-house Legal Salary Survey 2020

The trend for increasing salaries for in-house lawyers in the UK looked set to continue in 2020 until the arrival of the global pandemic, which continues to shake up working practices and compensation expectations. To a large extent we have yet to see a lot of these structural changes fully play out and the results of our salary survey indicate an abatement in salary rises as the market digests the full impact of the changes. Whilst there have been some rationalisations in legal teams this year, the added demands the pandemic has placed upon lawyers commercially, combined with the continuing uncertainty around Brexit and other legacy regulatory pressures from 2019, ensure the role remains vital and that good lawyers are still in demand. This is particularly the case with candidates adopting the attitude that is not the time to raise one's head above the parapet - leading to a shallow candidate pool. The dramatic changes to current and predicted approaches to flexible working both in-house and in private practice are lively to have a significant impact on salaries in 2021.

View our current in house legal jobs here.

If you have any questions related to this salary survey or for more information on legal recruitment, please contact Rutherford's in-house legal recruitment team by email at enquiries@rutherfordsearch.com or by phone at +44 (0)207 412 8923.

Hedge Funds

PQE	GBP per annum: base
NQ - 2 years	70 - 100K
2 - 4 years	90 - 110K
4 - 6 years	95 - 125K
6 - 8 years	100 - 130K
8 - 10+ years	140 - 160K
Head of Legal	160 - 250K
Managing Director	220 - 350K

Asset Management

PQE	GBP per annum: base
NQ - 2 years	65 - 95K
2 - 4 years	85 - 110K
4 - 6 years	95 - 120K
6 - 8 years	100 - 130K
8 - 10+ years	130 - 150K
Head of Legal	150 - 200K
Managing Director	220 - 300K

Private Equity

PQE	GBP per annum: base
NQ - 2 years	70 - 95K
2 - 4 years	85 - 110K
4 - 6 years	95 - 120K
6 - 8 years	115 - 130K
8 - 10+ years	140 - 160K
Head of Legal	160 - 250K
Managing Director	220 - 350K

General Banking/Finance/Corporate

PQE	GBP per annum: base
NQ - 2 years	70 - 95K
2 - 4 years	95 - 105K
4 - 6 years	105 - 120K
6 - 8 years	115 - 135K
8 - 10+ years	125 - 145K
Head of Legal	150 - 200K
Managing Director	220 - 350K

Retail (Retail/Consumer Lending)

PQE	GBP per annum: base
NQ - 2 years	60 - 75K
2 - 4 years	65 - 80K
4 - 6 years	75 - 95K
6 - 8 years	90 - 110K
8 - 10+ years	95 - 115K
Head of Legal	110 - 140K
Managing Director	150 - 220K

Brokers/Exchange/Market Infrastructure

PQE	GBP per annum: base
NQ - 2 years	65 - 75K
2 - 4 years	75 - 85K
4 - 6 years	80 - 100K
6 - 8 years	90 - 120K
8 - 10+ years	120 - 145K
Head of Legal	130 - 170K
Managing Director	150 - 250K

Fintech

PQE	GBP per annum: base
NQ - 2 years	65 - 75K
2 - 4 years	65 - 90K
4 - 6 years	75 - 100K
6 - 8 years	85 - 105K
8 - 10+ years	90 - 125K
Head of Legal	115 - 175K
Managing Director	170 - 250K

Payments

PQE	GBP per annum: base
NQ - 2 years	60 - 75K
2 - 4 years	65 - 80K
4 - 6 years	70 - 95K
6 - 8 years	90 - 110K
8 - 10+ years	90 - 115K
Head of Legal	110 - 160K
Managing Director	150 - 240K

Insurance

PQE	GBP per annum: base
NQ - 2 years	60 - 70K
2 - 4 years	70 - 85K
4 - 6 years	75 - 100K
6 - 8 years	85 - 105K
8 - 10+ years	95 - 120K
Head of Legal	115 - 160K
Managing Director	150 - 240K

Disclaimer

This salary survey is designed to represent an indication of the most up to date compensation information available relating to In-house lawyers across the UK financial services market. It is important to note that these are not definitive and exceptions do exist at either end of the salary spectrum. The firm size/headcount and jurisdictional coverage, risk profile, product complexity, profitability, experience, strategies and other elements will all feed into a more accurate market rate. This survey is intended to provide guidelines. For a more definitive assessment, please contact one of our legal headhunters.