Trainee solicitors at the smartest corporate firms in Scotland are surviving on dismally low salaries: in some cases well under half what they'd make in London.
RollOnFriday was alerted this week to the situation at Maclay Murray & Spens, a leading Scottish firm with offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and London. Despite top equity partners taking home £330,000, the firm has confirmed that trainees in Scotland are paid a mere £17,000 in their first year.
To put that in perspective, none of the major City firms pays less than £37,000. A trainee at Burges Salmon in Bristol will make £30,000, at Pinsent Masons in Birmingham £26,000. But at MMS trainees only get a grand more than the £15,965 recommended as a minimum by the Law Society of Scotland for even the smallest firms. But MMS isn't doing old crofters' wills in Brigadoon - it's a major corporate outfit which could do a lot better on the salary front.
Of the other leading Scottish firms, McGrigors pays its first years £18k and Dundas & Wilson pays £19k, but all of the rest (Dickson Minto, Brodies, Biggart Baillie, MacRoberts and Shepherd & Wedderburn) seemed too embarrassed to comment when RollOnFriday contacted them. Given the miserable precedent set by their competitors, it's perhaps no wonder they want to keep salary info confidential.
Of course Scottish students don't pay university fees, so don't need quite so much cash to service their debts on graduation. But Edinburgh is hardly a cheap city, and the disparity with London firms reflects poorly on such successful firms.
Tip Off ROF
RollOnFriday was alerted this week to the situation at Maclay Murray & Spens, a leading Scottish firm with offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and London. Despite top equity partners taking home £330,000, the firm has confirmed that trainees in Scotland are paid a mere £17,000 in their first year.
To put that in perspective, none of the major City firms pays less than £37,000. A trainee at Burges Salmon in Bristol will make £30,000, at Pinsent Masons in Birmingham £26,000. But at MMS trainees only get a grand more than the £15,965 recommended as a minimum by the Law Society of Scotland for even the smallest firms. But MMS isn't doing old crofters' wills in Brigadoon - it's a major corporate outfit which could do a lot better on the salary front.
A Scottish trainee dining in the style to which they're accustomed. |
Of the other leading Scottish firms, McGrigors pays its first years £18k and Dundas & Wilson pays £19k, but all of the rest (Dickson Minto, Brodies, Biggart Baillie, MacRoberts and Shepherd & Wedderburn) seemed too embarrassed to comment when RollOnFriday contacted them. Given the miserable precedent set by their competitors, it's perhaps no wonder they want to keep salary info confidential.
Of course Scottish students don't pay university fees, so don't need quite so much cash to service their debts on graduation. But Edinburgh is hardly a cheap city, and the disparity with London firms reflects poorly on such successful firms.
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While Edinburgh might not have the transport and rental costs of London, everything else is of a similar price. Don't know how I survived (well I do, excessive credit card abuse).
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There is something to be said for the 9-5 or maybe 6 of Edinburgh despite the wage cut.
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Typically the Law Society minimum, which equals to £11,400 for a first year trainee.
Qualifieds sit around the £20k mark.
The Law Society doesn't do anything about it, and they can afford to, given the excess of wannabe solicitors around.
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In addition, not all degrees are free in Scotland - fees can exceed £20,000 to complete certain LLB degrees.
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The cost of living in Edinburgh or Glasgow, while not as high as London, is fair higher than that of Bristol or Birmingham.
This issue stems from the Law Society of Scotland setting the minimum trainee wage levels so low. It is completely unfair and unrealistic to set the same minimum wage level for trainees at small, high street firms as for trainees at large commercial outfits who have to work harder, longer hours and live in the city centre.
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If firms want to run a laid-back 9-5 operation then fair enough but the fact is that all of those cited in this article use the same corporate waffle and HR-tyranny system as their MC counterparts...without compensating their people for having to put up with it.
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The hourly rates of an Edinburgh and London lawyer aren't much different - circa £100K in London at 60h per week or circa £60k at 35h per week.
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The average call centre in Glasgow will pay its workers circa £20k. Let's use that as a ballpark figure. This is meant as no slight on call centre workers, however, little to no qualifications are required to do the job - on the job training is normally provided.
Contrast this with someone who does a law degree. Four years spent doing the LLB. This is four years spent living fairly frugally, not earning. In addition to this, should one wish to practise as a solicitor, the student must undertake the Diploma in Legal Practice. In total, this is FIVE years out of the job market. Five years you are not earning. And what is your reward for all your hard work and effort? A measly 18k!! No harm to call centre workers but they have not had to go through 4 years of long-winded tortuous dissenting judgments and latin-strewn jargon!
With a starting salary like that many young people will be dissuaded from entering the legal profession in Scotland. It really is tuppence. When you consider the sort of salary you may be able to command on a general graduate scheme, where is the great incentive to enter law?
I suspect many young students are naiive and believe the hype which appears to be prevalent across Scotland - that lawyers are all very well paid. Sadly, this has been exposed as a fraud and it is indeed remarkably disingenuous of those within the profession to continue promulgating this view.
Many are often surprised when I respond that, although doing the LLB, I have little intention to enter the legal profession. Most find this to be rather silly, believing I am throwing away some great money-spinning opportunity. Yet in reality I am happy with this choice - in light of the true facts, entering the profession is a bad choice. Fighting tooth and nail just to land a traineeship, with the considerable outlay of 6k just to do the diploma to allow you to secure said traineership, is really not worth it any more, not for this kind of starting salary. I find the whole prospect of a career in law somewhat tedious, frustrating and disappointing, and would likely suffer from the knowledge that I was being overworked, underpaid and quite frankly, undervalued.
What a shameful indictment on the legal profession in Scotland, and it is small wonder that students such as myself will turn their backs on entering the profession, where much better paying jobs may be available with the big graduate employers, allowing a better quality of life into the bargain.
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No thanks.
I feel sorry for the those who paid in excess of 6k for an LLB to earn this pittance working 12 hours a day 5 days a week.
Mugs.