To think that no newly qualified lawyer can be worth a salary of £150k?

Thing is there is a finite pool of excellent graduates each year. The top law and finance firms want the best of the crop by paying for it. Not all of those will make it beyond 3-5 years and they will work them hard for it. Other industries offer different things. Eg diplomatic service will be recruiting from same pool and will be offering prestige (and a fairly crappy salary), charity sector can offer the altruism and appeal to those who want to do good. You generally get the pick of the crop by paying a lot or picking up or by offering something that is more altruistic. My husband works in an industry that doesn’t do the altruism thing or pays mega bucks to grads and tends to have pretty mediocre grads as a result.

Oh dear.
"Snobby"
NQTs aren't worth it in magic circle firms. Perhaps not but nowadays they will have a first from a top university, probably a fluency in a 2nd language, probably a USP such as started as a mathmo and switched which is helpful in commercial law, cross border transactions and tax.
They work 12 hour days sic days a week, probably as a minimum.
Due to the hours they can't handle long commutes so probably live in zone 2 London - £600k for a small flat, £2k pcm rent.
Many don't keep it up for quality of life reasons or get weeded out - a lot of those move happily to lower tier firms, in-house or to the provinces to smaller firms and end up with a better life balance, lower col and, depending on location and practice area, £60k to £120k.

You aren't comparing like for like and for those who don't scale the pyramid the silly money for silly hours is a relatively short-lived career. Just like City based financial services - been there, done that and was totally burnt out at 35.

“Snobby london firms”

Oh dear OP that’s a big chip you have on your shoulder there.

£150k is an investment in ensuring they have and retain top talent and I’m going to guarantee they work harder and are likely smarter than you.

So as said upthread, these NQ solicitors are doing around 100 hours a week. Assume that (with a typical leave entitlement, and further assuming they can take all of that leave) they are doing that for 46 weeks a year, that works out at about £33 per hour before tax. If you're doing (say) 40 hours a week, then your £60k a year would work out about the same per hour.

I know which of these roles I'd rather have.

I think you're wildly underpaid and it's making you bitter!! I'm an in house lawyer for a public sector org and on £50K with no team leading responsibility

The £150k is an arbitrary number to match their relative competitors ... just like a nurse or dustbin lorry operator are "worth" far more than their salary as they are bloody invaluable

So go work there OP? I earn £50k as a lawyer, work for a local authority. I’m only on 12k more a year than when I qualified 6 years ago because I qualified into private practice. But I am quite content because I work my 21.75 hours a week and log off, I get time in lieu, work flexibly and have no one hovering over me looking at my billing.

Weve all made our choices. I could go to a London firm and earn more, I don’t want to.

If you think you can pull in that salary, apply.

Exactly. OP sounds jealous.

Law firms aren't charities. If they didn't think the new lawyers were worth that much, they wouldn't pay them that much.

She is 31 and only recently qualified as a solicitor so its not too bad. she is single and no kids and doesnt mind doing the work now for a pay off later, but she is always looking for the next role.

she has been headhunted for another role already and thats in the 6 figures.

Calling firms 'snobby' does make the OP sound bitter

Yabu and bitter.

I was a trainee at one of those firms. Sleeping under desks, not going home for days, and cancelling longed-for holidays was routine. They have to pay those kinds of salaries to attract and retain the necessary talent to run a "best in business" law firm. I worked with some of the most intelligent and talented people I've ever met, and yes, they deserved their salaries.

You've made choices about where you live, where you work and the type of work you do. So have they. You are each paid accordingly.

I took a step back from the MC, which was also a choice. I earn less than one of these NQs now as a 6 PQE lawyer, but I love my job. I did not love my training contract.

If an NQ works 60 hours a week (very routine) they are on the equivalent of £9.61 an hour. Less than minimum wage. Think about that for a minute, OP. Your bitterness is misplaced.

They are not initially worth that. Mc firms pay them for the potential. They know they will get the value from them in the long run, not to mention they work horrendously long hours so that actual pay for hours worked is less lucrative.

These type of firms get their money out of you! As a trainee / NQ there it is likely to be VERY long hours , working round the clock with little work life balance.

Exactly!

Probably not but they’ll expect their pound of flesh for it, toxic work environment and burn out beckons. Look at that poor woman who was a partner in Pinsents who tragically took her own life. Not for me thanks. I work to live not live to work and am happy with my role and salary. A lot of other lawyers I know are funny people though and their self worth is tied up in how much they slog their guts out to benefit other people, for work that at the end of the day no one dies if they don’t do.

was that the tone deaf post/article in LinkedIn about how £150k isn't that much for the poor poppets once you take into account cost of living in London and the hours they work - claiming that net they're 'only' earning £60 per hour?

How we laughed!

I work in the NHS - with 3 relevant degrees, a couple of postgrad diplomas and 20+ years of experience, I earn a fraction of that. And I am well paid compared to most non managers in the NHS. Its obscene. To be fair, the way they work people in those firms is horrible. But no one should be worth that much out of uni.

You sound a bit bitter.

making an observation doesn't make someone sound bitter

It's all about the rates the lawyer can be charged out at. Corporate and global insurer client rates are way in excess if what a high street solicitor can charge "ordinary" clients. Even NQs can be charged out at £3-400ph, and they're expected to work crazy hours, hence the commensurate salary.

It's true that their experience is more limited but don't forget they'll have done two years training and most will also have done paralegal work, vacation placements etc and they'll be supervised by partners and senior associates. They aren't roles that are easy to walk into either (ask me how I know ...) They tend to be very high achievers with excellent academics who perform very well in day long assessment centres.

I'm a salaried partner at a big global firm in London but the business stream I work in has only composite UK insurer clients where the rates are much lower than in the global business streams. Consequently our salaries are lower too. Our NQs are paid half as much as some of the corporate departments and that does mean that the applicants we get are not of the same calibre. Some gems, yes, but they tend to hot foot it over to another department after a while and who can blame them. Sadly it's a bit late for me (age 50). Composite insurer rates weren't so strikingly different when I started out but they haven't increased in the last 20 years and I'm stuck in my lane now. Oh well, roll on retirement!

This
It's like the shop assistant in poundland complaining they aren't getting hundreds of pounds of commission like a salesperson in a luxury car dealership - 2 different roles.

Also if you're 56 then you wouldn't have had to pay a penny in tuition whereas new graduates are coming out £50-80k in debt. Which, yes the 0.1% earning £150k will pay off quickly but the vast majority who will end up doing normal jobs in legal fields - like you - will be paying it off for the rest of their lives. So you should be thinking how lucky you are.

Which one of those snobby law firms rejected you?

I'm not in law our grads are paid 60 starting.

I’d also be concerned about the profitability of your Practice. £60k is nothing for a lawyer. NQs in the regions get more than that!

The type of work done in the City is different. I’m fed up of lawyers from the regions complaining about London salaries. Move then.

You also spelt practice wrong which may explain why you haven’t progressed.