In London, overall legal salaries increased by 2.4 per cent compared with last year. The survey -- conducted by by specialist recruitment consultancy Robert Walters -- also revealed that in-house salaries are currently growing faster than in private practice.

In-house boom

The survey – based on Robert Walters-recruited posts in 2010 and 2011 – showed that permanent pay rose for both in-house commerce and industry (4.1 per cent) and financial services (2.5 per cent), while private practice salaries increased by 1.6 per cent.
Colin Loth, Director of Legal Recruitment at Robert Walters, says: ‘Despite uncertain market conditions, the legal jobs market has been steadily improving over the past year and this is reflected in the fact that salaries are continuing to rise. The best professionals are receiving notable salary increases when moving roles.’