Salary survey: regional/national

The Bristol-based independent Burges Salmon , for example, paid NQs £42,500, but in many other regions, the average starting salary is considerably lower. North East and Midlands-based NQs, for example, can expect a salary in the mid-£30,000s. Even within Bristol, once you get past Burges Salmon and its peers, at smaller commercial firms salaries are much lower – closer to £35,000 for an NQ.

Bearing in mind this big regional variation, the overall average salary rises to around the mid-£40,000 mark for a 1-3PQE, although for corporate lawyers it is closer to £50,000, while their private client counterparts earn considerably less. The average rises to the high £50,000s for a 4-6PQE and £60,000s and beyond for a solicitor of more than seven years’ qualification