Ten Percent Legal Recruitment

Salary Guide for Lawyers

UK Legal Salary Guide 2026 | Ten Percent Legal Recruitment
Ten Percent Legal Recruitment

UK Legal Salary Guide 2026

A practical guide to salaries for solicitors, legal executives, fee earners and legal support staff, based on salary levels indicated to us by UK employers.

Last updated: September 2026
How to read the figures: solicitor figures are for lawyers with around three years’ PQE and above. London figures appear in brackets where a separate range has been supplied. These are market indications, not fixed pay scales; location, PQE, billing record, specialism, supervision, management duties and working pattern all affect salary.

Solicitor and lawyer salaries

Practice areaUK salary rangeLondon indication
Commercial in-house solicitor (general)£80,000–£120,000£85,000–£140,000
Commercial litigation£45,000–£70,000£50,000–£95,000
Corporate and commercial£50,000–£150,000£65,000–£175,000
Construction£65,000–£95,000—
Commercial property£55,000–£100,000—
Insolvency£60,000–£75,000—
Intellectual property£55,000–£90,000—
Professional negligence£55,000–£75,000—
Crime£40,000–£50,000—
Civil litigation£45,000–£60,000—
Conveyancing£45,000–£75,000Around £70,000
Employment£45,000–£55,000—
Family£37,000–£50,000—
Immigration£37,000–£75,000—
Personal injury and clinical negligence£40,000–£60,000—
Property litigation£50,000–£70,000—
Wills and probate£45,000–£65,000—

Legal support staff salaries

RoleSalary range
Office manager£40,000–£60,000
Legal cashier£30,000–£40,000
Senior legal accounts professional£40,000–£50,000
Legal secretary£23,000–£28,000
Paralegal£22,000–£27,000

What we are seeing in the market

Candidate expectations

Candidate salary expectations are often higher than salaries paid to existing staff in law firms with turnover below £2 million. A job title alone is therefore not enough for a reliable comparison: duties, billing expectations and local demand matter.

Hybrid and remote working

There remains a gap between candidate expectations and many firms’ working arrangements. Hybrid working has become a minimum requirement for a significant proportion of candidates, particularly in harder-to-fill practice areas.

For employers

Compare the role as a whole, including PQE, supervision, billing, management duties, benefits and flexibility. A slightly higher salary can be less important than a clearly defined role and workable hybrid arrangements.

For candidates

Use the figures as a starting point. The strongest comparisons are with roles in a similar location, firm size and practice area, with comparable responsibility and billing expectations.

Permanent and locum pay are different

This guide covers permanent salaries. Self-employed locum lawyers charge hourly rates and usually invoice firms directly. For temporary cover, see the latest locum hourly rates guide and salary-equivalent calculator.

Need a salary view for a particular role?

Ten Percent Legal Recruitment has recruited solicitors and legal support staff for UK law firms and in-house legal departments since April 2000. Contact our permanent recruitment team for a practical view based on the vacancy, location and current candidate market.

Register a permanent vacancyRegister as a candidate

Email pete.gresty@ten-percent.co.uk.