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The 2026 Barclay Simpson Salary Survey & Recruitment Trends Guide: In-house Legal
Barclay Simpson has been producing market reports across the areas we recruit for since 1990. For the 2026 edition of our Salary Survey and Recruitment Trends Guide for the in-house legal market, we surveyed in-house lawyers and the organisations that employ them to gather their views on the issues affecting the profession.
This includes trends affecting permanent jobs directly, as well as wider developments shaping the in-house legal market at large, such as artificial intelligence and equality, diversity and inclusion. We also examine current salary trends and provide the latest salary ranges for in-house legal jobs.
In-house legal jobs market
The UK’s in-house legal recruitment market has been relatively buoyant over the last 12 months, marking a welcome improvement on the more subdued conditions of the preceding two years.
While hiring activity has not returned to the heady levels seen in the post-pandemic period, vacancies for in-house legal jobs have picked up as employers look to grow and strengthen their teams. The greatest demand continues to be at the junior to mid-level end of the market — typically those with between two and eight years’ PQE — whereas opportunities for senior in-house lawyers are more limited.
“There has definitely been growth across in-house legal functions throughout 2025 and 2026, over and above staff replacements. We are seeing various organisations across multiple market segments expanding their legal teams,” says Tom Boulderstone, Head of Legal, Co-Sec and Compliance at Barclay Simpson.
“Legal functions have sometimes struggled to compete with risk and compliance for budget. But more recently, the UK’s shift towards deregulation in support of growth has perhaps reduced the emphasis on compliance in particular, freeing up more budget for legal teams.”
Pockets of activity have emerged across both the buy-side and sell-side of financial services. On the buy-side, hedge funds and the investment functions of wealth managers performed well in 2025, which resulted in steady hiring throughout the year. Meanwhile, on the sell-side, a number of brokerages and banks remain busy, especially across their sales and trading functions.
In terms of skillsets, derivatives has been one of the more active areas for in-house legal. This is likely a result of market volatility over the last year, which led to many firms placing greater emphasis on hedging strategies. Broader corporate commercial roles also continue to hold up well, despite muted M&A activity in 2025, with deal volumes dropping 12% year on year.
Looking ahead, 2026 appears set to remain active, with legal teams continuing to bolster their numbers. One emerging area of demand is technology commercial contracts experience. This expertise is becoming more important in sectors that would not previously have required it, as the prevalence of tech and AI solutions grows.
“There has definitely been growth across in-house legal functions throughout 2025 and 2026, over and above staff replacements. We are seeing various organisations across multiple market segments expanding their legal teams.”
At Barclay Simpson, we also work with in-house legal professionals in North America, and the US continues to be a particularly active recruitment market. Part of this is down to the relative strength of the American economy, but it is also partly due to how in-house legal is perceived within US organisations.
As we mentioned in our 2025 In-House Legal Salary and Recruitment Trends report, the US tends to view legal as more of a strategic asset than a cost centre. Many in-house lawyers play an active role in generating revenue, such as through affirmative litigation, which helps to raise their profile internally and unlock bigger budgets.
“We have seen a healthy level of activity and demand across in-house legal recruitment in the US over the last year, and the market is expected to continue to perform well for the remainder of 2026,” says Idol Peja, Senior Consultant at Barclay Simpson.
Candidate confidence slips
Unfortunately, a more active market backdrop over the last year does not yet appear to have fed through into candidate confidence, which has dropped slightly since our last report.
Our latest survey of in-house lawyers revealed that 77% were optimistic about their job prospects, compared with 84% who said the same in our 2025 report. It is worth noting that this could be a result of the disparity between demand at the junior and mid-level end of the market compared to the senior end. Whereas the former have every reason to be confident about their current opportunities, this is not as much the case for senior professionals. Nevertheless, the results show that a majority of candidates remain optimistic about the current state of the job market.
When asked what the greatest challenges are to securing a new role, the most commonly cited response was a reluctance to move from their current job (45%). However, a similar proportion of candidates mentioned that advertised salaries or day rates were too low (42%) or there was a general lack of in-house legal jobs being advertised (40%).
What are the biggest challenges to securing a new role at the moment?
| Challenge | % of candidates |
|---|---|
| Hesitant to move from current role | 45% |
| Too few jobs being advertised | 42% |
| Advertised salaries or day rates are too low | 40% |
| Challenging recruitment processes | 26% |
| Other | 6% |
Respondents could select all options that applied.
Each year, we also ask professionals to rank their priorities when considering a job move, and our survey results suggest that compensation is still king to in-house lawyers, but career progression is rising in importance.
Remuneration ranked as the main motivator for 42% of respondents, although this has dropped from 59% year on year. At the same time, the proportion of candidates prioritising career progression has jumped from 15% to 26%.
“We are seeing a growing number of people willing to move sideways on pay – or even take a cut — to gain experience and new skills to put them in a better position to progress their career,” says Mario Pafundi, Consultant at Barclay Simpson.
Broadly, we find that compensation is more important to junior lawyers, generally those with up to five or six years’ PQE, whereas candidates tend to focus more on progression after this.
What is your main priority when considering a new role?
| Priority | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Remuneration | 42% | 59% |
| Career development | 26% | 15% |
| Work-life balance | 18% | 16% |
| Job security | 7% | 3% |
| Remote working | 7% | 6% |
| Better benefits | <1% | <1% |
Nearly a fifth (18%) of in-house lawyers told us a better work-life balance was their main objective when searching for a new role, a slight rise on 16% from our last report. This is perhaps unsurprising when 23% of in-house lawyers reported feeling burnt out in the past year, according to Juro’s 2025 State of In-house report.
“Many in-house legal teams are stretched pretty thin, meaning they are often juggling increasing workloads with fewer resources. This has eroded the work-life balance benefits that in-house lawyers have traditionally had over their private practice peers,” Mario says.
Meanwhile, a growing percentage of candidates are also favouring job security as their main priority, albeit from a relatively small base. In our last report, just 3% of in-house lawyers ranked it top, but this has more than doubled to 7% today, which likely reflects the slight drop in confidence that candidates are showing in market conditions.
AI in in-house legal recruitment
Last year, the UK Government announced a number of major reforms aimed at driving growth, creating jobs and boosting British businesses by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI).
OECD estimates suggest that AI could improve productivity in the UK by up to 1.2 percentage points every year over the next decade, second only to the US in the G7. Increasing AI adoption within organisations could also unlock as much as £140 billion in annual economic output.
Within the legal profession specifically, one study found that AI was already saving in-house lawyers up to 14 hours of time each week, while reducing expenditure on outside counsel by 14%.
But what impact is the technology having on in-house legal recruitment?
In this, our 2026 In-house Legal Salary Survey and Recruitment Trends Guide, we examine how AI is currently being used by in-house teams, and what candidates make of its role in the hiring process.
Legal functions increasingly adopting AI
Use of AI within the in-house legal function has risen quickly. In 2023, just 28% of global in-house legal leaders said generative AI (Gen AI) tools were being used in their departments. Within a year, this figure had climbed to 44%, and Axiom’s 2026 GC report claims that 96% of teams have now adopted Gen AI in some form.
That said, most organisations are still experimenting with the technology. Less than a third of in-house legal departments globally are using it for specific use cases, according to EY figures. Indeed, only a quarter say AI is a high priority for them.
Top AI use cases in in-house legal
| Use case | % of organisations with completed projects |
|---|---|
| Automated invoice review | 38% |
| Automated document generation | 26% |
| Integrated reporting and dashboards | 22% |
| Case prediction and analytics | 14% |
| Legal advice and chatbots | 13% |
| Automated workflows or RPO | 13% |
Source: EY
Currently, the most common uses of AI across in-house legal departments are automated invoice review and document generation. Among teams using AI, these have been implemented by 38% and 26% respectively.
Other use cases, such as automated workflows (13%) and IP management automation (10%) are less widely implemented at the moment, but many firms are either working on these projects now or plan to begin them within the next year.
Top AI use cases for the future
| Use case | % of organisations with projects underway or planned within 12 months |
|---|---|
| Automated workflows or RPO | 80% |
| IP management automation | 77% |
| Digitised service of process | 76% |
| Horizon scanning / regulatory developments | 75% |
| Risk scoring | 74% |
| Case prediction and analytics | 74% |
Source: EY
“AI is a topic that many people are talking about, but most in-house lawyers are still waiting to see what the real-world impact on their jobs is likely to be,” says Tom Boulderstone, Head of Legal, Co-Sec and Compliance at Barclay Simpson.
“There are various tools helping professionals save time and complete work more efficiently, but law is a complex area and it’ll take a sophisticated AI to add real value to what they do.”
Candidates prefer the human touch
Outside of AI’s use within the legal function itself, there appears to be some hesitation among both employers and in-house lawyers about utilising the technology within recruitment processes.
Our surveys show that only a third of departments are currently using AI in their recruitment, with 77% of organisations telling us they do not believe it makes the process more efficient nor more effective. And in-house lawyers themselves agree. While nearly half (49%) of candidates have not noticed employers using AI in the recruitment process, of those that have, their feelings towards it are generally sceptical — 79% said AI worsens the experience overall.
Moreover, 55% believe it neither makes recruitment more effective nor more efficient, and only 9% feel it achieves both. When asked whether they had used AI themselves to improve their chance of a job application, a large majority (71%) said they had not.
What impact does AI have on recruitment processes?
| Impact of AI on recruitment processes | % of candidates |
|---|---|
| Neither more effective nor more efficient | 55% |
| More efficient | 30% |
| More effective and more efficient | 9% |
| More effective | 6% |
Have you used AI to improve your chances during a job application?
Equality, diversity and inclusion across in-house legal
At Barclay Simpson, we are committed to building diverse and inclusive workplaces where everyone’s contributions are respected and valued. Recruiters are in a unique position to promote the benefits of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within the world of employment, and we believe agencies should not only embrace these values internally, but also promote and support them across their wider communities.
This is now our second year of collecting EDI-focused data from our annual market report surveys, allowing us to provide year-on-year comparisons and draw deeper insights from our communities on these important issues.
EDI faces challenges
When US President Donald Trump took office last year, he immediately signed Executive Orders to revoke long-standing affirmative action programmes for federal contractors and organisations that receive government funding.
Lawyers were a specific target for Trump’s changes, with 20 major international law firms told by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to provide detailed information on their EDI programmes to ensure they were lawful. According to the Law Gazette, this affected firms’ offices in both the US and the UK. White & Case, for example, discontinued its diversity and inclusion function on both sides of the Atlantic.
More importantly for in-house lawyers specifically, the measures have also had a noticeable impact among global firms not directly linked to federal funding. Many large US-headquartered businesses have scaled back or abandoned EDI initiatives and targets, including Meta, McDonald’s, Walmart, IBM and Goldman Sachs.
While some firms, including McDonald’s, have announced they remain committed to EDI programmes in the UK, unions have raised concerns that these policies will hamper the country’s diversity and inclusion efforts.
Despite a challenging political backdrop, however, the in-house legal professionals we spoke to still believe in the value of diversity and inclusion. In our surveys, a sizeable majority of candidates (87%) said EDI is important to them on a personal level, of which 50% stated it is ‘very’ important.
How important is EDI to you personally?
Candidates
Employers
An almost identical proportion (88%) of employers agreed that EDI is important to them personally, with 45% claiming it is ‘very’ important. More than three-quarters (78%) also believe that strong EDI policies help to attract and retain good candidates.
This suggests that even as organisations and staff become less vocal about EDI, and some initiatives are being scaled back, many in the in-house legal profession continue to support efforts to create more diverse and inclusive workplaces.
Strengthening the impact of EDI
On the whole, both employers and candidates are confident that their organisation is making progress on EDI. Among employers, 74% agree or strongly agree that their organisation has an effective EDI culture, while 67% of candidates agree or strongly agree that their organisation is committed to it.
“My organisation demonstrates a strong commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion”
Candidates
Employers
However, there is less consensus on how effective EDI initiatives have been. While 52% of in-house lawyers either agree or strongly agree that their organisations’ EDI efforts have made a real difference, a significant minority (38%) feel neutral about the impact. This indicates that firms may need to ensure their commitment to EDI is not only well communicated, but also leads to effective action.
My organisation’s commitment to EDI makes a real difference
For companies serious about EDI, accessing accurate information and insights is crucial. Organisations have a better chance of fostering a sense of belonging and making a positive difference in the workplace by listening to both employees and experts who can provide input on what really matters when it comes to EDI.
If you would like to know more about any of the diversity-related findings in this report or the EDI advice and support we can provide, please contact us today.
Salary and bonus trends for in-house legal jobs
Starting salaries for in-house roles have seen growth at the junior and mid-level of the market over the last 12 months, but remain relatively flat for senior lawyers. This mirrors broader hiring patterns, with demand continuing to be stronger for professionals with between two and eight years’ PQE.
“It remains tricky at the top for senior lawyers, made worse by the fact there are so few opportunities for them to progress. There is now some frustration that senior-level salaries aren’t growing at the same pace as the rest of the market,” says Tom Boulderstone, Head of Legal, Co-Sec and Compliance at Barclay Simpson.
There have been no particular standouts in terms of sector with regards to salary increases, although the fintech space is now offering more competitive salaries after years of paying considerably below the market rate.
In previous market reports, we have also commented on the trend of private practice starting salaries for newly qualified (NQ) lawyers putting increasing pressure on in-house legal recruitment over the past decade. This trend has continued, but the average increase of 5% in 2025 was lower than in previous years. Notably, Magic Circle law firms kept starting NQ pay at £150,000 last year, and while US firms continue to offer attractive increases, there is growing consensus that salaries might be reaching their peak.
Looking ahead, base salary uplifts for those who remain in their current role will likely be reasonably limited over the next 12 months.
Our annual Employer Survey revealed that 46% of organisations that hire in-house lawyers will be increasing salaries by between 1% and 4%, while nearly a quarter are planning to keep them the same. Meanwhile, 89% of employers expect bonuses to either stay at their current level or fall over the next 12 months.
How much do you intend to increase base salaries for existing employees?
2026
% of employers
2025
% of employers
Among candidates, remote working remains a valued job benefit for many in-house lawyers, with 41% claiming it is the biggest perk of their current role. An annual bonus was the second-most popular choice at 32%.
Which job benefits do in-house lawyers value the most?
In-house legal salaries
The following tables provide an overview of current salary benchmarks for key in-house legal roles. Figures reflect average base salaries for professionals across the UK.
Investment banking salaries
| Job role | London | South East | Regional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newly Qualified (0-1 year’s exp) | £70k–£85k | £60k–£70k | £60k–£70k |
| AVP | £85k–£110k | £75k–£100k | £70k–£90k |
| VP | £110k–£125k | £105k–£110k | £90k–£105k |
| Director | £150k–£190k | £120k–£150k | £110k–£130k |
| Executive Director | £160k–£220k | £130k–£180k | £120k–£170k |
| Managing Director | £200k–£350k+ | £160k–£350k | £150k–£300k |
Asset management / wealth management salaries
| Job role | London | South East | Regional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newly Qualified (0-1 year’s exp) | £70k–£95k | £60k–£80k | £60k–£75k |
| Junior Lawyer (2-3 years’ exp) | £90k–£120k | £80k–£100k | £70k–£95k |
| Lawyer (4-5 years’ exp) | £110k–£140k | £100k–£120k | £90k–£110k |
| Lawyer (6-7 years’ exp) | £125k–£150k | £110k–£130k | £100k–£120k |
| Senior Lawyer (8+ years’ exp) | £140k–£170k | £125k–£150k | £110k–£130k |
| Head of Legal | £180k–£250k | £140k–£180k | £120k–£150k |
| General Counsel | £200k–£500k+ | £170k–£250k | £140k–£220k |
Hedge funds / private equity salaries
| Job role | London |
|---|---|
| Newly Qualified (0-1 year’s exp) | £70k–£95k |
| Junior Lawyer (2-3 years’ exp) | £90k–£120k |
| Lawyer (4-5 years’ exp) | £110k–£140k |
| Lawyer (6-7 years’ exp) | £125k–£150k |
| Senior Lawyer (8+ years’ exp) | £140k–£170k |
| Head of Legal | £180k–£270k |
| General Counsel | £250k–£700k+ |
Insurance salaries
| Job role | London | South East | Regional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newly Qualified (0-1 year’s exp) | £70k–£85k | £60k–£80k | £60k–£75k |
| Junior Lawyer (2-3 years’ exp) | £85k–£110k | £80k–£100k | £70k–£90k |
| Lawyer (4-5 years’ exp) | £110k–£140k | £100k–£120k | £90k–£110k |
| Lawyer (6-7 years’ exp) | £125k–£150k | £110k–£130k | £100k–£120k |
| Senior Lawyer (8+ years’ exp) | £140k–£160k | £125k–£150k | £110k–£130k |
| Head of Legal | £160k–£250k | £140k–£180k | £120k–£150k |
| General Counsel | £200k–£450k | £170k–£250k | £140k–£220k |
Commerce – FTSE 100 salaries
| Job role | London | South East | Regional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newly Qualified (0-1 year’s exp) | £70k–£95k | £60k–£80k | £60k–£75k |
| Junior Lawyer (2-3 years’ exp) | £90k–£120k | £80k–£90k | £70k–£85k |
| Lawyer (4-5 years’ exp) | £110k–£140k | £100k–£120k | £90k–£110k |
| Lawyer (6-7 years’ exp) | £125k–£150k | £110k–£130k | £100k–£120k |
| Senior Lawyer (8+ years’ exp) | £140k–£170k | £125k–£150k | £110k–£130k |
| Head of Legal | £200k–£300k | £180k–£250k | £180k–£250k |
| General Counsel | £300k–£700k | £250k–£550k | £250k–£500k |
Commerce – FTSE 250 salaries
| Job role | London | South East | Regional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newly Qualified (0-1 year’s exp) | £70k–£85k | £60k–£75k | £60k–£75k |
| Junior Lawyer (2-3 years’ exp) | £80k–£110k | £80k–£90k | £70k–£95k |
| Lawyer (4-5 years’ exp) | £100k–£120k | £90k–£110k | £90k–£110k |
| Lawyer (6-7 years’ exp) | £110k–£140k | £110k–£130k | £100k–£120k |
| Senior Lawyer (8+ years’ exp) | £130k–£170k | £125k–£150k | £110k–£130k |
| Head of Legal | £160k–£250k | £140k–£180k | £120k–£150k |
| General Counsel | £200k–£350k | £170k–£250k | £140k–£220k |
Fintech (payments / retail) salaries
| Job role | London | South East | Regional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newly Qualified (0-1 year’s exp) | £60k–£85k | £60k–£80k | £60k–£75k |
| Junior Lawyer (2-3 years’ exp) | £90k–£110k | £80k–£100k | £70k–£95k |
| Lawyer (4-5 years’ exp) | £110k–£130k | £100k–£120k | £90k–£110k |
| Lawyer (6-7 years’ exp) | £125k–£140k | £110k–£130k | £100k–£120k |
| Senior Lawyer (8+ years’ exp) | £140k–£160k | £125k–£150k | £110k–£130k |
| Head of Legal | £160k–£200k | £140k–£180k | £120k–£150k |
| General Counsel | £200k–£300k+ | £170k–£250k | £140k–£220k |
Crypto / brokerage salaries
| Job role | London | South East | Regional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newly Qualified (0-1 year’s exp) | £60k–£85k | £60k–£80k | £60k–£75k |
| Junior Lawyer (2-3 years’ exp) | £90k–£110k | £80k–£100k | £70k–£95k |
| Lawyer (4-5 years’ exp) | £110k–£130k | £100k–£120k | £90k–£110k |
| Lawyer (6-7 years’ exp) | £125k–£150k | £110k–£130k | £100k–£120k |
| Senior Lawyer (8+ years’ exp) | £140k–£170k | £125k–£150k | £110k–£130k |
| Head of Legal | £170k–£250k | £140k–£180k | £120k–£150k |
| General Counsel | £200k–£350k+ | £170k–£250k | £140k–£220k |
Attract and retain the in-house professionals you need with Barclay Simpson
Barclay Simpson has specialised in the recruitment of in-house legal professionals since 2001. Our long-established team has extensive experience of recruiting on a permanent and contract basis for in-house positions in legal departments.
We can help you create a talent attraction strategy with competitive salary offerings and support you as you build an in-house legal team that’s future proof. Or we can help you find a role that aligns with your long-term career goals. Arrange a consultation today.
If you are interested in a new in-house legal position or recruitment services, get in touch today.
