A STUDY OF THE SALARY MARKET OF FOREIGN LAWYERS HAS BEEN PUBLISHED

As the results show, the salaries of lawyers of American firms have increased over the past year – for example, for firms from the Am Law 100 list, the average compensation of lawyers in the first quarter increased by 17.3% compared to the previous year.

At the same time, by opening their offices abroad (Australia, Canada, Great Britain, etc.), American firms create serious salary competition for local companies, since they offer a level of remuneration in some cases 2-3 times higher than that which, for example, Canadian offices are ready to offer.

Simultaneously with the increase in wages, many firms note that the geographical location of the lawyers they hire has become a less significant obstacle. As a result, law firms began to pay attention to regions in which they had not traditionally worked before. Respondents note that there is a cross-border recruitment of lawyers, but efforts to recruit lawyers within one country are more common.

In the US, law firms in large markets such as New York and Chicago recruit assistants from regions such as the Southeast, which was not common practice in past years, when recruitment was often limited to graduates of top-level law firms and assistants located in the same markets as the firms' offices. 

In addition, it is increasingly possible to see how top-level Am Law firms hire lawyers from firms of the second hundred Am Law or even medium-sized, which means that the pressure on talent is felt at almost all levels of the US legal market.

The same thing is happening in the UK and in the European Union as a whole. Previously, it was often possible to hear that London law firms recruit employees from other regions of the UK, as well as from firms located in EU countries, even from those that are somewhat lower in the market than the firms that recruit. However, now some partners are saying that associate lawyers are leaving large British and American firms to move to smaller firms or to smaller markets. The heads of firms located in the EU also spoke about the amazing number of lawyers, and in some cases even partners, that they managed to attract from London law firms, as these lawyers are looking for a better work-life balance and less stressful requirements.

Another important point, which is noted in the report as a trend, was the concern of managers for the welfare of their employees and the prevention of their emotional burnout. 

As follows from the text of the study, several firms reported that they consider the well-being of lawyers one of their main priorities.

In addition, it is noted that the transition to a remote mode of work during the pandemic currently creates certain difficulties for the heads of firms associated with the need to adapt the format to a hybrid, and many firms point to remote work as a key factor contributing to the decline of the company's culture, as well as having a detrimental effect on well-being and mental health lawyers.

In general, the study contains a lot of interesting information about what trends can now be observed in the context of the organization of work by foreign colleagues, and this experience, it seems, could be useful to the heads of Russian companies, which is why it is recommended to read the full text of the document.