Several jurists have pointed out the negative effects of legal education and practice on the altruistic aspirations of lawyers,33 and there is evidence that they may be right. Much of the research conducted in the United States suggests that legal education has a negative or neutral effect on students` moral reasoning.34 Research has shown a gradual shift in attitudes and values toward a conservative view of the legal role,35 away from idealism to instrumentalism36 and against legal aid, public service, or government work.37 We could extrapolate and consider the possibility of culture and the focus on commercial law hinders commitment to helping others in a broader sense. That said, at 80,000 hours, we`ve seen people win for many years in similar areas like funding with no obvious risk of abandoning their donation plans, so it`s possible to avoid that. In this profile, we look at the pros and cons of the law to give an income. We focus on high-end business law – where the money is – not public interest law. It is based on the legal education and experience of the lead author of this profile, Natalie Cargill, as well as conversations with lawyers from various practice areas. We also relied on academic literature, Law Society surveys and publicly available salary data. Technically, there is no official minimum wage for potential lawyers, but the Bar recommends a minimum of £22,794 for those trained in London and £20,217 for articling students elsewhere in the country. These numbers are just a snapshot of the current House of Commons, and we should be careful to draw confident conclusions. However, if we look at the general trends towards fewer lawyers (and more “career politicians”) in parliament, the snapshot seems to suggest that a career in commercial law is not a “ticket to parliament”. If we compare that with the 10,000 or so people who work as business lawyers, we can see that the chances of moving from business law to Parliament are very slim.
This is from an interview with Laura, 67, an intern at a Magic Circle law firm. She studied law at a prestigious British university and intended to work in commercial law for a few years to qualify. While not everything is bad – experience has taught him the “basics” of business practice, such as attention to detail, and most of his colleagues are friendly – there is very little law and a lot of “grumpy work” for many hours. Companies are obliged to pay the national minimum wage, but this is the only restriction they have when setting wages for training contracts. Many commercial companies pay apprentices at an extremely competitive price. Regionally, it will be around £25,000, but some municipal law firms pay a starting salary of more than £35,000. Because training contracts are the legal equivalent of a graduate program, they often offer several attractive benefits, including a gym membership, generous annual leave, and additional subscription credit. Even if you practice commercial law, it is not clear if you will have the influence of an “other” lawyer.
In the best case, you increase the supply of lawyers, which could lead (in advance) to possibly hiring an additional half person. If the supply of lawyers is artificially restricted by professional licenses, as some claim, the impact could be close to zero. In 2011, the minimum wage for student lawyers was set at £12,000. For some, this can be a particular challenge, especially given the course fees, which can range from £25,000 to £35,000. On the other hand, some lawyers will pay much more, especially if you want to join rooms in London. Look for the type of rooms you want to join to see what to expect in terms of compensation. In the UNITED Kingdom, some – but not all – of the downward trend can be explained simply by the rise and fall of the Labour Party.47 The other reasons are less clear. On the supply side, lawyers (and in particular business lawyers) may be less and less inclined to stand for Parliament due to their higher incomes, the reduction in the Statute for Members and the growing demand for their jobs. The former is known as the “Magic Circle”13, an informal term for what is traditionally considered the UK`s leading trading companies. The Magic Circle consists of Allen & Overy; Clifford Chance; Freshfields; Linklaters; and Slaughter and May.
And remember, while it`s tempting to let salary information dictate your career choices, don`t let numbers stop you from pursuing an area of law that you`re really passionate about. Money isn`t everything and there are many other things you should consider when planning your legal career. For example, weighing which qualification path is best for you, which areas of law are of interest to you, and what type of law firm is best for you. Also note that high-end business law is not a particularly broad field: the 30 highest-paid companies together offer only about 1,000 training contracts per year in total, and the 10 highest-paid companies offer only 200.
