Quarter 4 Overview
The good news is that hiring levels have increased in Q4 – in fact, we’ve seen a 28% quarter-on-quarter rise in vacancies. Naturally, as in most professional services industries, the summer period makes it slightly more difficult to make progress. This is especially exacerbated in Europe, where the month of August is largely out of the equation.
This quarter, we saw particularly high growth in deal-related legal markets, such as Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) and Private Equity (PE). Law has always been a ‘follow the money’ industry and we are seeing this now with Amsterdam and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is ‘open for business’, while Amsterdam has arguably become Europe’s leading financial city, with its huge tech hub.
Hiring Activity
Here, the highest growth has been focused on senior recruitment levels. After the Newly Qualified (NQ) rush of the summer, most firms are now looking to grow at five+ years PQE. This seems to be linked to business development capabilities, but it also comes as a result of last year and Q1, where so many firms really packed out their junior levels.
In terms of the industries and businesses that have seen the highest increases, the financial market-driven practice areas have certainly been at the forefront. This was probably the space that suffered the most at close of 2022/beginning of this year. We have also seen large increases in M&A and PE. These markets have undoubtedly been more consistent in Europe, where M&A deal flow has been steadier than in London.
With many firms desperately looking to add to their client offering, the most in-demand skill sets are related to business development. Bringing in people who are on the cusp of developing a client base or have already started on this journey is therefore hugely desirable.
Forecast for Quarter 1 2024
Listening to client feedback, there are positive signs that hiring activity is expected to increase in Q1 of next year. Many firms have recovered from a poor start to 2023 and, as a consequence, are now actively in growth mode. This is especially the case amongst the large US firms who invested heavily in their financial teams across 2022. Despite experiencing a growth pause this year, there is an expectation that M&A deal-flow will steadily rise throughout 2024 and into 2025.
There are certain areas in particular where growth shows no signs of slowing down, such as Competition and Employment. Both of these markets are intrinsically linked to M&A and PE, and many firms have been playing catch up over the last two years with regards to developing these practices.
Turning to salaries, these continue to increase at a significant rate and this is something that isn’t likely to slow at all next year, as companies struggle to attract the top candidates they need. Firms are also now starting to become more creative with the benefits they offer in a bid to stop the race of growing salaries. Indeed, this has been heightened by some firms going past the Cravath scale.
For employers, talent acquisition is going to be a key challenge going forward. Post-Covid, workloads have increased across the board and firms that have previously been able to offer a great work/life balance or would describe themselves as ‘family friendly’ are quickly evaporating. This is now causing candidates to evaluate more carefully: if they are going to be working significantly increased hours, then they will be looking for remuneration that is commensurate with that. As such, we have seen large numbers of people migrate away from silver-circle firms and other west-end firms in pursuit of parity between work and pay.
[/fusion_text][fusion_text columns=”1″ animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_delay=”0″ hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” column_spacing=”150″]Quarter 4 Overview
The good news is that hiring levels have increased in Q4 – in fact, we’ve seen a 28% quarter-on-quarter rise in vacancies. Naturally, as in most professional services industries, the summer period makes it slightly more difficult to make progress. This is especially exacerbated in Europe, where the month of August is largely out of the equation.
This quarter, we saw particularly high growth in deal-related legal markets, such as Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) and Private Equity (PE). Law has always been a ‘follow the money’ industry and we are seeing this now with Amsterdam and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is ‘open for business’, while Amsterdam has arguably become Europe’s leading financial city, with its huge tech hub.
Hiring Activity
Here, the highest growth has been focused on senior recruitment levels. After the Newly Qualified (NQ) rush of the summer, most firms are now looking to grow at five+ years PQE. This seems to be linked to business development capabilities, but it also comes as a result of last year and Q1, where so many firms really packed out their junior levels.
In terms of the industries and businesses that have seen the highest increases, the financial market-driven practice areas have certainly been at the forefront. This was probably the space that suffered the most at close of 2022/beginning of this year. We have also seen large increases in M&A and PE. These markets have undoubtedly been more consistent in Europe, where M&A deal flow has been steadier than in London.
With many firms desperately looking to add to their client offering, the most in-demand skill sets are related to business development. Bringing in people who are on the cusp of developing a client base or have already started on this journey is therefore hugely desirable.
Forecast for Quarter 1 2024
Listening to client feedback, there are positive signs that hiring activity is expected to increase in Q1 of next year. Many firms have recovered from a poor start to 2023 and, as a consequence, are now actively in growth mode. This is especially the case amongst the large US firms who invested heavily in their financial teams across 2022. Despite experiencing a growth pause this year, there is an expectation that M&A deal-flow will steadily rise throughout 2024 and into 2025.
There are certain areas in particular where growth shows no signs of slowing down, such as Competition and Employment. Both of these markets are intrinsically linked to M&A and PE, and many firms have been playing catch up over the last two years with regards to developing these practices.
Turning to salaries, these continue to increase at a significant rate and this is something that isn’t likely to slow at all next year, as companies struggle to attract the top candidates they need. Firms are also now starting to become more creative with the benefits they offer in a bid to stop the race of growing salaries. Indeed, this has been heightened by some firms going past the Cravath scale.
For employers, talent acquisition is going to be a key challenge going forward. Post-Covid, workloads have increased across the board and firms that have previously been able to offer a great work/life balance or would describe themselves as ‘family friendly’ are quickly evaporating. This is now causing candidates to evaluate more carefully: if they are going to be working significantly increased hours, then they will be looking for remuneration that is commensurate with that. As such, we have seen large numbers of people migrate away from silver-circle firms and other west-end firms in pursuit of parity between work and pay.
[/fusion_text][fusion_text animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_delay=”0″ hide_on_mobile=”large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky”]Salaries
UK London Permanent Salary Per Annum £
| Role | |
|---|---|
| NQ | £75k – £110k |
| 1 yr PQE | £80k – £120k |
| 2 yrs’ PQE | £85k – £130k |
| 3 yrs’ PQE | £90k – £138k |
| 4 yrs’ PQE | £95k – £140k |
| 5 yrs’ PQE | £100k – £150k |
| 6 yrs’ PQE | £100k – £160k |
| 7 yrs’ PQE | £120k – £170k |
| 8 yrs’ PQE | £130k – £200k |
US Firms (Cravath) Permanent Salary Per Annum
| Class | Salary | Bonus | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22/23 – 1st Year | $215k | $20k | $235k |
| 2021 – 2nd Year | $225k | $30k | $255k |
| 2020 – 3rd Year | $250k | $57.5k | $307k |
| 2019 – 4th Year | $295k | $75k | $370k |
| 2018 – 5th Year | $345k | $90k | $435k |
| 2017 – 6th Year | $470k | $105k | $475k |
| 2016 – 7th Year | $400k | $115k | $515k |
| 2015 – 8th Year | $415k | $115k | $530k |
| Class | Salary | Bonus | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22/23 – 1st Year | £162k | £15k | £177k |
| 2021 – 2nd Year | £170k | £23k | £193k |
| 2020 – 3rd Year | £190k | £44.5k | £234k |
| 2019 – 4th Year | £222k | £58k | £280k |
| 2018 – 5th Year | £261k | £69k | £330k |
| 2017 – 6th Year | £280k | £81k | £361k |
| 2016 – 7th Year | £303k | £88k | £391k |
| 2015 – 8th Year | £315k | £88k | £403k |
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