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Onto more pressing matters; namely, The Firm Spy 2010 Remuneration Survey. In conjunction with Legal Monkey, we have been asking all our readers from Australian law firms to kindly – and anonymously – enter their remuneration details in an online survey (available here).
We have had an incredible response so far, but still need everyone’s assistance to get accurate pay-brackets across all offices of all firms. So keep up the fantastic work! Enter your details here.
Some of the more colourful comments we have so far received in response to our question “what makes you happy/sad/ambivalent about your firm include:
A graduate from Mallesons in Sydney wrote:
I dont like the fact that most graduates are ignored by their partner/partner pretends they don’t exist. I don’t like the extremely high billable hour target (5 hours before qualification and 7 after) when for most firms it is about two hours lower per day.
A seventh year Freehills lawyer wrote:
Sad (frustrated): the long hours and unpredictability of the long hours. Always expected to be “on call” on Blackberry.
An Allens Arthur Robinson third year wrote:
REALLY frustrated about pay review – I regularly bill at 135% of my billable target, work crazy hours and weekends for an extra $5000?!? I had been holding out for ‘better’ times with a firm I previously felt loyal to – but with all the cutbacks, additional enforced christmas leave time, lack of any form of morale boost and now the poor pay increase, I’m very flat and disenchanted.
The message we are getting from management – not a single reassuring word – they still have more lawyers than they need and want ppl to leave
A Corrs fifth year wrote:
[the firm] runs on the smell of an oily rag. It’s easier to solve global warming than to get a free lunch out of Corrs.
A Blake Dawson sixth year wrote:
salary increase not in line with market rate, following no increase last year. Definitely not a market leader, although I suspect others at my level are probably getting paid more. Overlooked in promotions. Feel undervalued.
And our favourite – a second year at Minter Ellison wrote:
Minter Ellison is the cheapest firm in the solar system. Right down to my partner refusing to send paper Christmas cards and sending out an electronic card at 5pm on Christmas eve.
We intend to start posting remuneration information for each of the firms in early August. So you’ve all got weekend work:
- fill in The Firm Spy 2010 Remunerations Survey;
- sign up for our weekly newsletter; and
- consume heavy liquor to drink away the winter blues.
Send the Firm Spy your news and views!
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For firms where there was no substantial gfc impact, only an option 3 would truly be reasonable: up two bands plus an $Xk bonus to square up what was lost last year.
Junior lawyers are absolutely kidding themselves if they think that they will be getting 2 years pay increases. It simply is not how business works. Firms set their pay according to industry salary bands and those bands are very clear that nobody is jumping up 2 levels – it’s called supply and demand.
If you dont like your pay, go elsewhere – u will get a $5k kicker to join and be promised the world. You will get there scratch for billable hours because they will give work to people they trained up themselves, your peers wont like you cos u will be paid slightly more than them. Next June you will lose that $5k (and more) you were paid above band when your new firm pulls you back into line with all their homegrown lawyers and then you will be pushed below them for promotion opportunities.
“Life is pain highness, anybody who tells you differently is selling something”.
As far as I am aware some firms are still in the middle of reviews? Shouldn’t this be run in July?
Some peer bands at Mallesons Sydney didn’t even get single-band increases. Many solicitors got what amounts to nothing more than the rate of inflation. Partners had to field angry complaints in large numbers all day. Several lawyers – both women and men – were on the verge of tears at their desks without caring who saw them.
If the partners think Mallesons lawyers are stupid enough to just sit there and take it once the initial emotion wears off (which will be soon) they are truly delusional. There is going to be a rush to the exits at Mallesons. Good luck finding people to replace the current crop of disgruntled lawyers at that firm of greedy slavedrivers.
And the greatest insult: Mallesons lawyers were told that “client expectations” were a consideration in setting salaries. If “client expectations” are that Mallesons lawyers deserve such idiotically low salaries, then “clients” should adjust their “expectations” of the level of service they’ll be getting from Mallesons lawyers. Could they possibly be so stupid as to not see that this will happen? Yes. Will this be the thing that prompts rapid action? Not likely. Will Mallesons be toppled by its own greed? There’s always hope.
Some peer bands at Mallesons Sydney didn’t even get single-band increases. Many solicitors got nothing more than the rate of inflation. Partners had to field angry complaints in large numbers all day.
If the partners think Mallesons lawyers are stupid enough to just sit there and take it once the initial emotion wears off (which will be soon) they are truly delusional. There is going to be a rush to the exits at Mallesons. Good luck finding people to replace the current crop of disgruntled lawyers at that firm of greedy slavedrivers.
And the greatest insult: Mallesons lawyers were told that “client expectations” were a consideration in setting salaries. If “client expectations” are that Mallesons lawyers deserve such idiotically low salaries, then “clients” might want to adjust their “expectations” of the level of service they’ll be getting from Mallesons lawyers. Could the partners possibly be so stupid as to not see that this will happen? Yes. Will this be the thing that prompts rapid action? Not likely. Will Mallesons be toppled by its own greed? There’s always hope.
Looking forward to seeing the results of this! When do we hear?
What is Aussie Legal Monkey, anyway? I can’t see anything about it on the internet.
What a pack of whingers this website represents. If you don’t like being a lawyer then don’t just sit there and gas bag – leave! change! do something else!
Boh, may I politely suggest that you go and play a game of hide and go f*!k yourself.
The Graduate at Mallesons should really take a good look at themself in the mirror. If they think that 7 a day is rough they should be looking for a new job.
Hmmm, way to verify your information Firmspy. Graduates at Mallesons in Sydney have targets of 4 hours per day before admission, 5 hours per day after. Really not that tough…