A new report from legal recruitment firm Mahlab has found slight increases in both base pay and bonus payouts for Australian lawyers so far in 2016. According to the research findings, the average salary for a lawyer in private practice at an Australian law firm has lifted 3.8 per cent this year. Meanwhile, the number of Australian lawyers who have received a bonus payout this year is up on last year’s figures, with bonuses averaging in the range of 5-10 per cent for those lawyers whose performance exceeds expectations, and as high as 20 per cent for extremely high performers.  

Freezes begin to melt

While the increases are modest, Mahlab suggests that this year’s data provides some encouragement that post-global financial crisis pay freezes within the Australian legal sector are finally starting to thaw: ‘The majority of employers are reporting the end of salary freezes, though there is strong consensus that the increases are still conservative,’ the report explains. Sources: Australasian Lawyer; Mahlab