10 Highest Paying Countries for Lawyers

The 10 highest paying countries for lawyers surely appreciate the importance of a sound justice system, of which lawyers are the foundation.

Lawyers have suffered a much-maligned reputation through the years, with the general consensus being that lawyers will do anything for money, even if that violates its ethics. Furthermore, a general impression about lawyers lies in the belief that they are egomaniacs who consider themselves above everyone else.

Of course, all these beliefs are just unfounded myths, which have mainly endured because legal battles are both emotionally and financially exhausting. And since every legal situation has a winner and a loser, the loser will be further embittered by the process and everyone involved with it. Furthermore, lawyers see the ugly side of the world much more than most other professionals. This, in turn, results in a certain level of cynicism, which is sometimes reflected in their personalities. The truth is, a certain level of detachment is required in this profession in order to be objective and perform their duties to the best of their capabilities.

In reality, lawyers are, as mentioned earlier, an integral part of the justice system and hence, the society. They are the upholders of justice, and often, the only people responsible for ensuring that a person receives a fair trial, which is a basic human right.

To be a lawyer, pure intelligence is never enough. In order to convince the judge, jury and even the general public on occasions, lawyers need to possess a charming and engaging personality, and the ability to convey important points to the judge and jury. A lawyer with intelligence above average, but with poor communication skills will never be able to achieve much success in this field.

Due to the aforementioned qualities required for one to become a successful lawyer, only a few are able to reach the top. However, those who do manage to do so earn handsome salaries, precisely because of the fact that the demand is much higher than the supply. Lawyers have a myriad of opportunities in the field; they can go into private practice, become prosecutors, defense lawyers, corporate lawyers and so much more. They can further specialize as well in legal areas such as contracts, torts, trademarks and patents among many other options. After a certain degree of expertise and experience, lawyers can even open up their firms, which can be very lucrative indeed.

We’ve based our list of highest paying countries for lawyers on the Global Salary Survey for 2015, which includes some of the most influential countries in the world and the salaries paid for various jobs in the field of law, in their national currencies. As we’ve established before, there are several jobs which are available to lawyers. In order to establish an objective ranking, we have considered the same or similar jobs available in each country. Furthermore, we have used the current exchange rates to convert the salary to a uniform currency, which in this case is the US dollar. We’ve considered the range of wages available for the job and then calculated the average wage, which formed the basis of our ranking. In case where multiple cities  were presented for a country, we chose the highest paying city as that was most suited to our purpose. If you want more information regarding the highest paying cities for lawyers, you can visit the 10 Highest Paying Cities for Lawyers.

Let’s take a look at our list!

10. France

Position: Legal counsel

Average annual salary: $55,443

Years of experience: 1-4 years

Due to a significant increase in mergers and acquisitions, lawyers with expertise in banking were highly sought after, which, in turn, resulted in higher demand, even though the salary rates barely changed between 2014 and 2015. In addition, with the country’s economy still in recovery mode, new firms are popping up while old firms are increasing their hiring rates as well. The rates are expected to increase later on.

9. Ireland

Position: Legal counsel

Average annual salary: $66,004

Years of experience: 1-4 years

There has been a negligible increase in the salaries for lawyers in Ireland that’s up next on our list of highest paying countries for lawyers. This is because the market had already recovered significantly and most increases were incorporated in 2014. Further, while basic salaries have not increased by much, sign-on bonuses have improved as demand for lawyers is on the rise.  The remunerations are further expected to increase as the conditions seem beneficial for lawyers at the moment.

8. Singapore

Position: Legal counsel

Average annual salary: $69,905

Years of experience: 1-4 years

Up next on our list of highest paying countries for lawyers is Singapore, which is considered to be one of the major centers of Asia, which has consistently boosted its economy, creating thousands of jobs across the spectrum. This has included an increase in jobs for lawyers as well. Further, the government of the country itself has laid an emphasis on arbitration in the country, which is why local firms have decided to recruit Singaporean lawyers, which is why they are some of the highest paid lawyers in the world.

6. Luxembourg

Position: Legal Advisor

Average annual salary: $81,844

Years of experience: 1-4 years

Due to an increase in strict regulation and legislation in the country, the demand for lawyers specializing in these areas increases significantly together with their salaries, naturally. However, the highest demand for lawyers was for legal specialists who could communicate with the Luxembourg regulator. In fact, the demand for lawyers is so high that it has overtaken supply and many companies are struggling to fill these positions. And now, let’s see what else we have on our list of highest paying countries for lawyers.

6. Belgium

Position: Legal Advisor

Average annual salary: $81,844

Years of experience: 5-7 years

As was seen across Europe, as the market was recovering, the companies in Belgium focused on investing rather than cost-cutting, which could have seen a fall in salaries as well as a reduction in hiring and an increase in redundancies. Choosing an investment strategy saw hiring increase, which, in turn, will further boost its economy. However, there was little increase in the salaries as the companies are still recovering from the economic downturn.

5. Japan

Position: Legal counsel

Average annual salary: $95,379

Years of experience: 1-3 years

Japan’s legal industry has steadily risen through the years and it is showing no signs of stopping. As companies increase their presence internationally, the demand for lawyers continues to rise. Lawyers who are bilingual are being given the greatest attention, and are the most sought-after lawyers in the country. Salaries are expected to continue increasing for lawyers in Japan as demand continues to be greater than supply.

4. The United Kingdom

Position: Private counsel

Average annual salary: $108,141

Years of experience: 1-3 years

The United Kingdom ranks 4th on our list of highest paying countries for lawyers. It is a large country, and the salaries vary significantly from city to city. Hence, we focused on the rates offered in London, which are the highest rates offered in the United Kingdom. If you go over to the Midlands, then the rates could fall by as much as half of the salary in London.

In uniformity with trends across Europe, the hiring rates for lawyers have consistently increased, while wages have increased comparatively slightly. While our ranking was based on lawyers with 1-3 years of experience, London is an excellent place for lawyers with more than 5 years of experience as well, with such lawyers being able to ask for more fees than ever before.

3. Hong Kong

Position: Legal counsel

Average annual salary: $109,544

Years of experience: 1-3 years

In Hong Kong, demand beats supply once again, particularly for lawyers who can speak Chinese, but also for those who are specialized in the corporate and financial law.

2. Switzerland

Position: Legal counsel

Average annual salary: $132,744

Years of experience: 1-3 years

Switzerland ranks second on our list of highest paying countries for lawyers. It already offers handsome salaries to its lawyers, which is why many foreigns look for jobs in the country. However, there seems to be little inclination that the salaries will increase in the near future.

1. The United States of America

Position: Private practice

Average annual salary: $185,000

Years of experience: 1-3 years

Topping the list of the 10 highest paying countries for lawyers, the United States of America offers by far the best packages to lawyers. Since the USA is a large country, the rates vary significantly as you move from state to state. Hence, we focused on the state that pays the highest salary to lawyers, which is New York. As you move to rural areas, the rates will keep on decreasing. Furthermore, the competition is cutthroat in New York, as America’s brightest fight for the best positions.