Following a ‘year of restraint’ in 2010 a number of London firms have lifted pay freezes, and recruitment requirements for local top-tier firms have increased, according to the latest Taylor Root private practice salary survey for the UK.

The survey also revealed that corporate and banking & finance continue to dominate in terms of areas hiring new fee-earners. A strong US market, evidenced by the large spring bonuses recently announced by firms as well as a few bright spots in areas such as employment, pensions and insurance were further signs of hope for lawyers hoping to make their mark in the UK.

In terms of actual PQE, lawyers with anywhere from one to five years PQE will find more opportunities opening up, consultants said. This is in addition to existing strong demand already for lawyers with five or more years PQE.

Below are detailed salary expectations for each level of firm with a UK presence (Magic Circle, US and mid-tier)

Top Tier Firms: PQE (yrs) Min (£,000) Max (£,000) Paralegal 0-1 yr 18 25 Paralegal 1-3 yrs 23 35 NQ 50 64 1 55 70 2 62 75 3 70 85 4 80 90 5 83 95 6 85 115  

US Firms market: PQE (yrs) Min (£,000) Max (£,000) Paralegal 0-1 yr 23 30 Paralegal 1-3 yrs 25 35 NQ 60 80 1 64 90 2 68 100 3 77 110 4 83 120 5 90 130 6 96 140  

US Firms Wall Street PQE (yrs) Min (£,000) Max (£,000) Paralegal 0-1 yr 23 35 Paralegal 1-3 yrs 30 45 NQ 85 100 1 90 110 2 100 115 3 110 125 4 117 135 5 120 145 6 125 160

Mid-Tier/Boutique PQE (yrs) Min (£,000) Max (£,000) Paralegal 0-1 yr 18 25 Paralegal 1-3 yrs 23 30 NQ 38 55 1 45 60 2 51 65 3 57 75 4 62 82 5 68 85 6 70 92