Job success is in the preparation
WHEN the months of May and June roll around, legal professionals wait in eager anticipation for their yearly salary reviews. While many lawyers receive inspiring salary hikes at this time, others walk away from their reviews less than impressed.
Hudson legal senior consultant Jacqui Pearce said lawyers who were unhappy with their salaries needed to prepare more carefully before their next review. "If you've very recently had an unsatisfactory review, there may be the opportunity for it to be reconsidered,'' Ms Pearce said. For most, though, the opportunity has passed and it will be another 6-12 months before their next review.
"That might sound like a lifetime away but preparation needs to start now.'' Ms Pearce said there were several ways lawyers could aim to have their salaries increased. "If you're really happy with everything in your job except salary, then you should do everything possible to obtain a salary increase,'' Ms Pearce said.
"This includes knowing your worth. "Speak to a specialist legal recruitment consultant to find out your current market value. "It's also important to be commercial and have realistic expectations.
"Salary is a reflection of your chargeout rate and your billings so you really need to know how many hours you've worked, how much you've billed and benchmark that against your peers.''
As the industry norm for a top or middle-tier practice was 6-7 billable hours per day, Ms Pearce said many young lawyers were required to work at least 50 hours a week. "If you're not getting a steady flow of work delegated to you then it's time to speak up,'' she said. "It is very difficult to argue for more money if you are not contributing at least three times your salary in billings.
"Also, if you want to earn more, your chargeout rate will almost necessarily increase. This means you need to convince your partners that your clients would be prepared to pay a higher rate for your services.''
Ms Pearce said any business development initiatives should be highlighted at the review as partners liked to reward staff members who generated new work. "Your value also increases if your clients love you so identify any complimentary feedback you have received as well as any client relationship development you have been involved in,'' she said. Ms Pearce said good supervisory and marketing skills were also a good way to increase market value.
"The ability to market yourself and your firm differentiates you from some excellent technical lawyers,'' she said. "Good managerial skills are also rare so, if you take an active role in developing junior staff, then remind the partners of your contribution and seek out opportunities to manage more junior lawyers.''
As a result of Queensland's strong resource sector and current property development boom, Ms Pearce said lawyer demand had been pushed higher than it had yet been. "If you're not happy to wait until your next review or you're pretty sure salary is going to be an ongoing issue at your current firm, the time might be right to consider other options,'' Ms Pearce said.
"Private practice is an extremely `candidate tight' market and chances are there's another firm that is able to offer you similar or better work, mentoring, environment, resources and career prospects at a higher salary,'' she said. Ms Pearce said that, if moving on appeared the best alternative, lawyers should speak to a recruitment consultant to assess all of the options available.
"Choose a consultant who works with all of the firms you are interested in and who you trust and respect. "Working exclusively with them will help you to make the best move and achieve the best salary outcome,'' she said.
