Business Support Market Insights Q2 2017

Business Support Market Insights Q2 2017

Published on 4th April 2017

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The beginning of the year saw some interesting changes in the legal business support recruitment market and we expect the legal sector to continue to evolve through 2017.

Fee-earner recruitment remains a key focus law firms of all sizes and this will of course impact business support teams.
Automation and process improvement is another area that many firms are focusing on and business support professionals will need to update their skill sets to adapt to these changes.

Skills in Demand 

With a number of restructures on the support side recently, experienced PA/EAs are currently in high demand.

Several law firms have redefined their PA/Secretarial roles and a high proportion of document work has been moved to dedicated Document Production teams. Some of these DP teams have also been outsourced.

Many firms are currently reviewing the support that PAs and Secretaries are providing to their partners and fee earners with the aim of ensuring that the lawyers are maximising their fee earning time.

Mergers and Acquisitions 

2017 has had a busy and challenging start with the collapse of one of London’s long-standing law firms and the imminent merger of 3 high profile firms to create a new ‘super firm’ and several others running in the background.

Predictions for the Coming Quarter

With the market remaining steady, competition to recruit the best talent will remain high. To encourage staff retention, several firms have been implementing clearly defined career paths for their Secretarial / PA staff. This is encouraging as clear career progression for business support staff is one area that had been lacking in previous years.

Business Support Salaries
Q2 2017

Legal sector

Job title Permanent salary
per annum (£)		 Contract rate per hour (£)
(based on 35 hour week)
PA Manager 48K - 75K 29 - 46
PA Team Leader 38K - 48K 23 - 28
PA Coordinator  38K - 44K 23 - 27
Executive Assistant to Managing Partner 42K - 50K 25 - 30
Senior PA to Senior Partner / Management Team 39K - 46K 24 - 28
Personal Assistant 31K - 35K 19 - 21
Legal PA to Partner 32K - 40K 19 - 25
Legal Float Secretary 34K - 38K 20 - 23
Legal Secretary to Associate 32K - 36K 17 - 20
Legal Secretary (6-12 months' experience) 22K - 28K 13 - 17
Trainee Legal Secretary 18K - 23K 11 - 14
Administrator / Admin Assistant 18K - 26K 9 - 16
Team Secretary / Assistant 25K - 30K 17 - 21
Daytime Document Production Manager / Supervisor 38K - 46K 23 - 28
Document Production Operator 33K - 38K 20 - 23
Weekend Document Production Operator 38K - 42K (pro rata) 23 - 25
Evening Document Production Operator* 35K - 38K 21 - 25
FOH Leadership 30K - 40K 18 -24
Receptionist / Switchboard Operator 24K - 30K 14 - 18
Facilities Assistant 22K - 27K 13 - 16
Post Room Assistant 18K - 24K 11 - 14
Reprographics Assistant 22K - 27K 13 - 16

*Discretionary enhancement for twilight/unsociable hours


Practice Sector

Job title Permanent Salary
per annum (£)                   		 Contract rate per hour (£)
(based on 35 hour week)
Office Manager 35K - 45K 21 - 27
Executive Assistant 36K - 40K 22 - 24
Senior PA 34K - 36K 20 - 22
PA                                                                                                                  32K - 34K                                            19 - 20
Secretary / Team Secretary 26K - 31K 16 - 19
Team Administrator / Administrator                           22K - 25K 13 - 15
Receptionist 23K - 26K 14 - 16
Switchboard operator 22K - 26K 13 - 16

 

Notes on salary table:

*Discretionary enhancement for twilight/unsociable hours
1. Titles and levels vary from organisation to organisation.
2. The salary ranges given are only approximate guides. For tailored salary advice, please contact us directly.
3. 12-month base salaries are assumed.
4. All other benefits and bonuses are in addition to these figures.

Claudine Williams

by Claudine Williams