Business Support Market Insights Q2 2017
Published on 4th April 2017
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.