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what is the salary of a lawyer?

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Lené’s Answer

Currently here in South Africa a lawyer or legal practitioner can mean both an attorney or an advocate. I will start with the income of attorneys as I suspect that, that is what you are most curious about. During the first two years postgraduate you will not yet be an attorney you will be a candidate attorney or an attorney in training. During this time you can expect to earn anywhere between nothing and R20 000,00. In Pretoria particularly the candidate attorney salaries are very low. In Johannesburg the average starting salary for a candidate attorney is R10 000,00. The aforementioned ceiling amount is what you can expect from the very large firms in Sandton and Pretoria. Post admission starting salaries are between R15 000,00 and R30 000,00. The amount depends on the firm and the area of law you are practicing in.

Advocates also have a training period post graduation but only for one year. During this year you will not be paid at all. It is often held that around the eighth or ninth month you may start taking on or assisting on smaller matters for your principal and then you may earn some money but the exact amounts are really dependent on your performance, your principal and available opportunities. An advocates income can range between nothing and literally millions later on in your career. This is because as an advocate you are essentially self employed working for clients. So if you are not working, are delivering poor work for clients or have not been introduced or been able to source clients you will have no income. However if you are a hard worker and have been provided clients by your seniors and peers you can earn many thousands of rands. Your starting hourly rate will be around R1 000,00. This means that provided that you have clients and work your income potential is R1 000,00 multiplied by the amount of hours you are working in a month. As you become more senior your hourly rate will increase as much as fourfold and I know of advocates who literally earn millions each year. Please note that once you are admitted as an advocate (after your training year and passing your bar exams) you will be required to pay for office, also called chambers. So unlike attorneys who employed by a law firm and essentially have no professional expenses, an advocate is responsible for all expenses such as professional fees, offices, assistants etc.

Hope this helps!

Lené recommends the following next steps:

I would suggest that you start vacation work at law firms or at advocates you admire from your second year in university. During this time you can both learn more about the profession from current professionals but also increase your odds of being offered a training contract post graduation.
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Desiree’s Answer

Nazimah - First know that this varies greatly by country. Secondly, there are several factors that impact an attorney's salary: how long they have been practicing law; where they work (what urban/country-side); whether they work for the government, a company, in a law firm or for a non-profit; and their areas of practice. Luckily, there are many on-line resources to figure this out for yourself. You can search "attorney salary [city/state/country]" and find information specific to you.

Here are some helpful resources for South Africa to get you started:
https://www.payscale.com/research/ZA/Job=Attorney_%2F_Lawyer/Salary
https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/south-africa-attorney-salary-SRCH_IL.0,12_IN211_KO13,21.htm

*Note that the following:
(1) While lawyers in big cities may make more money, the cost of living is greater, too. Rent/housing costs, commuting/transportation costs, cost of groceries, dining out, seeing a movie and going to a sporting event are all higher in bigger cities. Hence, a smaller salary in a midsize or smaller city may net you more "disposable" income.
(2) Depending on where you are educated, you might have to factor in the cost of law school and the repayment of any loans you take out to pay for law school against your future salary, too.

Desiree recommends the following next steps:

Research on-line the salaries of attorneys in the geographical area and legal specialities you might hope to practice.
Research the process for getting admitted to university/law school and the qualifications for practicing law in your country (and the assocated costs!)
Pay attention to the rate of people who attend the specific university/law school and who end up qualified to practice law. They might be easier or cheaper universities/law schools, but they might have poor rates of their graduates obtaining qualifications to practice law. You want to ensure your education will produce the desired outcome: becoming a practicing lawyer!
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