Junior lawyers are paid too much. Sometimes I sidle up to the point I’m looking to make but I couldn’t be bothered on this one because the fundamentals speak for themselves.
The story goes like this: the commercial legal market has stood up relatively well to what is, on some measures, the deepest downturn for a century. But resilience isn’t immunity. Given that demand remains subdued and that in real terms profitability is down in the region of 15% at many firms compared to 2007-08, the fundamental issue remains of whether the market justifies the salaries that are being paid for junior lawyers, a debate recently addressed in a very well argued discussion paper from Edwards Gibson.
