Canadian Lawyer

Newly hired in-house counsel saw salaries bounce back after a sharp fall last year, with the median 2015 call earning $73,000, up 14 per cent compared with last year's $64,000. However, that was still well short of the $89,000 average recorded in 2014. Two-year calls were also big winners, earning $90,000, up from $65,000 in 2015. At the senior level, in-house salaries were similar to last year's survey. For directors, the median pay of general counsel was down to $151,000 from $160,000, while at the executive level, it was $200,000, exactly the same as last year. Overall, 70 per cent of respondents predicted a pay rise in 2017, while 64 per cent paid bonuses to law- yers last year. Of those, 73 per cent paid a percentage of salary, with most falling in the 10- to 25-per-cent range, but some going as high as 50 per cent. Geography and methodology Of this year's 194 respondents, 60 per cent identified themselves as local firms, 21 per cent said they were regional, 10 per cent were national, and a further nine per cent were global. The vast majority, 75 per cent, of law firms contained between one and nine lawyers, while a further 24 per cent had between 15 and 49, with the rest 50 or more. Sixty-nine per cent of firms operate out of just one office, 17 per cent had between two and four offices, nine per cent had between five and 10 offices, and five per cent had more than 10. Up to $50,000 $51,000-$100,000 $101,000-$150,000 $151,000-$200,000 $201,000-$250,000 $251,000-$300,000 $301,000-$350,000 $351,000-$400,000 $401,000-$450,000 $451,000-$500,000 $501,000-$550,000 $551,000-$600,000 More than $600,000 Partner compensation (national) Sample size 79 9.1% 22.7% 15.2% 13.2% 9.2% 7.3% 7.5% 1.7% 2% 1.4% 1.2% 2.5% 7% Does your firm have a two-tier partnership structure Sample size 75 Sample size 71 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 Equal Partnership 26.8% Modified Hale and Dorr 4.2% Simple Unit 1.4% Merit 8.5% 50-50 Subjective/Objective 1.4% Eat What You Kill 35.2% Other 22.5% What compensation method does your firm use for equity partners? 44.3% 55.7% Yes No Did partner earnings increase in the last year? Sample size 79 26.9% 50% 23.8% Non-equity partner compensation method Sample size 26 Salary Percentage/Share of profits Billable hour/Revenue targets 32 J U L Y 2 0 1 6 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m Yes No 0 1-4 85.3% 91% 14.7% 9% 1 2 3 0 84% 1-4 12% 5-10 4% How many of counsel lawyers are there in your firm? Sample size 54 1 2 3 How many staff lawyers are there in your firm?

• Cover