Is the Private Client market a static one?

Our Douglas Scott salary survey looks at a wide range of areas of law, one of which is Private Client.  

Covering wills, probate, trusts and estates, this grouping of a wide variety of legal areas is a key bedrock of the legal sector. Indeed, a sector like this is usually a pipeline of new talent and moves. However, our latest Douglas Scott Salary Survey shows this might be slowing down year-on-year.  

Across the UK-wide Private Client market, 50% of our latest salary survey respondents said they were unlikely to move in the next 6 months from their current role. By contrast, only 19% were actively looking to move over the same period, with the rest of the respondents unsure. (So, they may be passively looking, a little discontented or just unsure about what is on the horizon this year.)  In the past couple of years, the number has actually been higher – in 2023, 54% said they were unlikely, while in 2024, the survey group responded that 56% weren’t looking to move. So, nationwide, things might be looking slow. However, there are still areas of the country where movement in the Private Client market is still strong. London is one such area – 42% of respondents were looking to move, which was the most common response from that group, in contrast to 29% for those who weren’t looking and those who weren’t sure. However, the rest of the country showed a slowdown in active job seekers compared to those who weren’t. (Yorkshire and the North East were the highest in this regard, with nearly all the responses from Private Client solicitors in that area indicating they wished to remain in their roles.) But why is that the case?  

Well, looking at some of the numbers, it is clear that those in the Private Client sector are contented in their roles, with 68% of people happy in their current role. Only 7% of those happy in their role were looking to move in the next year. 66% also felt that they were being paid around or above market value, meaning that most lawyers seem happy with their current salaries. The same was also true of bonuses and benefits – 36% of people were happy with their benefits, with a wide range on offer for people as well. Even progression, the reason for leaving their role sighted by 20% of Private Client professionals, didn’t seem to be too much of an influence – only 18% of people felt they wouldn’t be able to reach partner level with their current firm, with 34% usure whether they would reach that level with their current firm. It seems that many of the usual motivators (money, job satisfaction, benefits, progression) don’t seem to have quite as much sway on this market as perhaps others do.  

So, with many lawyers feeling settled and happy in their roles over a consistent period, it could well be that the Private Client market is falling into a settled pattern where people feel happy in their roles, and aren’t looking to move without some incentive. Despite London seeming to be an expanding market, the fast pace of the city market could be an influence here more than anything else. For those looking to move, a slowdown in the numbers looking to move could be just what they are looking for.  Indeed, here at Douglas Scott, we have seen the number of jobs we are taking on going up by 23% between the first quarter of 2025 and the last quarter of 2024, so there are opportunities out there for those who are willing to look.