Market trends for the new Financial Year

Alex Gotch of Beacon Legal comments that the Australian legal market remained buoyant during the 2022/2023 Financial Year, in comparison to other major global markets. Whilst role volumes have decreased comparatively to the previous year, Australia continued to offer a strong legal jobs market with numerous opportunities for lawyers.

Hiring remained stable within Finance, Real Estate, Technology, ESG, Cyber and Energy Transition, with demand from law firms focused on the experienced Associate and Senior Associate levels. Beacon Legal are also seeing counter-cyclical increases in hiring across contentious practice groups and in particular, Restructuring and Insolvency.

What have these trends meant for salary reviews?

Beacon Legal have collected salary data post reviews in Australia and report that the average increase for lawyers heading into the new Financial Year has been between 7-10%. This is a decrease from the average from the prior year which was 10-15%. Bonuses have also decreased from the previous year, largely due to a decrease in billable hours in most practice areas.

Alex Gotch reports “although salaries have on average increased at a lower growth rate than the previous year, the experienced and high-quality lawyers still attract salary premiums where demand has remained relatively stable for their services”. Interestingly, for the top candidates, there are still some fantastic salaries being offered, with Beacon Legal having helped lawyers secure some outstanding results:

• Litigation Associate 5PQE - $220K
• Funds / Financial Services Senior Associate 8 PQE - $275k
• Restructuring & Insolvency Associate 2PQE - $145k
• Environment & Planning Senior Associate 7PQE - $235k

What to expect in 2023

Beacon Legal are predicting stable job flow during the remainder of 2023, as firms look to consolidate their position and many remain cautiously optimistic for 2024 and beyond.

The approach to resourcing will be more strategic, with a focus on business critical roles being at the forefront when law firms create resourcing plans. This should lead to stable salaries during this financial year, with lawyers who are focused on achieving large bonuses, ensuring they are at a firm and team with a strong pipeline of work.

Beacon Legal Salary and Market Report July 2023

Contact Alex at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you would like a copy of the newly released Beacon Legal Salary and Market Report, which provides full salary date for Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane.