Most Spanish Lawyers saw profits up in 2014

 

60% of law firm partners in Spain received an increase in their income in the last year, according to new research.

A survey conducted by Iberian Lawyer revealed that 38% of partners in Spain had received an increase in the last 6 months, while a further 22% had received an increase 6 months to a year ago. Furthermore, in an indication that lawyers´ remuneration is beginning to surpass pre-crisis levels, a total of 65% of respondents said that their current income had increased in comparison to their income "prior to the economic crisis".

Market optimism is further fuelled by the fact that most lawyers expect their income to increase in the coming year. A total of 72% said they expected their income to increase in the next 12 months – of those expecting an increase, nearly half (44%) said they expected their income to go up by at least 9%.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given that many of the nation´s lawyers are earning more, more than three-quarters of respondents (77%) said they thought their firm´s remuneration system was effective. Two-thirds of participants in the survey believed they were remunerated "in line with the rest of the market".

However, not all partners in Spain have begun to feel more prosperous in the last year. Around one in five partners (21%) said it had been more than 2 years since they had last received an increase in their income, with half of those saying their earnings had not increased for more than 3 years.

A total of 35% of all respondents to the survey said their current income was less than the income they received prior to the economic crisis, while just over one in four (28%) said they did not expect their income to increase in the next 12 months.

One partner, who identified himself as a tax lawyer, criticised his firm´s remuneration system because, in his view, it is not performance related. "It [the remuneration system] is very subjective and based on the number of units you hold, the more senior you are, the higher your compensation, regardless of your performance," he said.  Meanwhile, another partner, also a tax lawyer, said his firm´s remuneration system could be improved by increasing the number of "remunerated units taking into consideration years as partner".

A capital markets partner said the remuneration system at his firm could be enhanced by "establishing a degree of certainty at partner level", while one banking and finance partner said a "fair profit allocation system improving the benefits of junior partners" should be implemented at his firm. A total of 110 partners participated in the online survey in May 2015.

Recommended Reading :

* Spain : 1 Lawyer for every 189 Residents

* Spanish Lawyers could lose immunity