Criminal solicitors – Are they the unhappiest legal sector?

Criminal solicitors are confronted with some of the most challenging conditions in the legal sector – and it seems like it might be taking its toll.  

Having to deal with a demanding caseload with high stakes can very easily lead to things like burnout and mental health issues. It can also lead to a higher level of dissatisfaction and a desire to change roles. And, indeed, across the Criminal law sector, we’re starting to see the signs of this – although one of these things doesn’t seem to be happening, which might be indicative of another interesting trend.  

So, let’s look at some of the headline figures first. In terms of happiness, 54% of respondents indicated they were either somewhat or very happy in their roles. While this number accounts for over half of the responses, it represents the lowest margin of happiness within the private practice sector. It may serve as a significant indicator that something is amiss in the criminal law sector. Another indicator of happiness is typically salary satisfaction, as money can often be the primary motivation, traditionally, behind a move. In this area, satisfaction is even lower – 60% feel they are being paid below market rate, with the remaining 40% feeling like they are being paid above the market average. There was complete polarisation on this topic, with no responses for people who thought they were being paid on the nose. Half of the respondents also reported never having received a pay rise in their current role, and, with some respondents having been in their roles for upwards of 5 years, that is a long time to find that your pay has remained frozen, especially in light of the current economic climate. 73% also had received a bonus last year – once again, one of the highest numbers across the legal sectors.  

Therefore, it might seem like this is fertile ground for movement in the market. Yet, however, there is one interesting statistic in all this data to disprove this fact – the number of people looking to move roles. Just 27% of those who responded to our survey were looking to move roles in the next six months – a low figure that is surprising considering some of the other statistics listed above. The main reasons why people were leaving their roles were fairly common ones, although one major reason was conspicuous by its absence. Relocation, progression, and moving to new practice areas were the top three reasons, with a salary increase being completely absent. So, despite the apparent dissatisfaction with salaries, people aren’t moving for money, or moreover, not many of them are moving at all. Why might that be? Considering how many well-publicised difficulties there have been with the criminal legal sector over the last decade due to government cuts, court backlogs and high pressures brought on by an increase in crime statistics, all these things might have helped to bring about a perfect storm where criminal solicitors are unhappy in their roles, but unable to find the satisfaction they are looking for elsewhere due to systemic problems with the system.  

So, it seems like criminal solicitors could indeed be the unhappiest group of lawyers currently. There are some crumbs of comfort, however – over half are still happy in their work, 36% were happy with their benefits packages, and 64% of them have aspirations to make partner or manager level. And, with progression being one of the top reasons why people are looking to move, it could well be that this might be the key for firms to unlock that latent talent.