In-house energy lawyers are among the best paid in the country, according a new salary survey that shows their average wage outstrips that of their counterparts in the banking sector for the first time.
The survey, conducted by recruiter GRS Group, found that average remuneration for energy company heads of legal was £234,000, made up of a base salary of £160,000 and a £74,000 bonus.
As first reported on www.thelawyer.com (16 October), second-tier legal managers in the energy sector command an average salary of £117,000 with a bonus of £40,000. Legal counsel of more than seven years’ PQE averaged a wage of £92,000 plus a £24,000 bonus.
The basic salary is on average 8.8 per cent higher than colleagues in the commerce and industry sector, with bonuses on average 5.4 per cent higher.
In-house salaries in the energy sector have risen on average by 7 per cent in 2006. This compares with average private practice salaries, which rose by approximately 9 per cent.
