South African salaries in 2019: what top lawyers earn

 ·22 Jan 2019

Specialist recruitment firm, Michael Page, has published its latest salary survey.

The survey is aimed at showing what skilled professionals in 164 different jobs in South Africa can expect to earn in 2019.

One of the key focuses of the report is the legal sector, which has typically been home to some of the highest-paying jobs in the country.

Top earners include General Counsel (GC) and partners, both of which can expect to take home R5 million a year at the high-end of market.

At the other end of the scale, candidate attorneys can expect to earn between R250,000 and R300,000 a year at top law firms.

Below BusinessTech looked at the full range of average salaries legal professionals can expect to earn in 2019.

The averages represent annual salaries in thousands of rands (R’000).

From Average To
In House
Junior Counsel R400 R500 R700
Legal Counsel R700 R900 R1 000
Senior Legal Counsel R1 000 R1 200 R1 500
GC R1 500 R1 800 R5 000
Legal Secretary R300 R450 R500
Top SA
Candidate Attorney R300 R350 R400
Associate R500 R600 R700
Senior Associate R750 R900 R1 200
Partner R1 400 R2 000 R4 000
Legal Secretary R300 R450 R500
Boutique Law Firm
Candidate Attorney R250 R300 R350
Associate R400 R500 R600
Senior Associate R700 R900 R1 000
Partner R1 000 R1 800 R3 000
Legal Secretary R150 R200 R300
International Law Firm
Candidate Attorney R300 R350 R400
Associate R500 R600 R700
Senior Associate R750 R900 R1 200
Partner R1 500 R2 000 R5 000
Legal Secretary R300 R450 R500

Read: The salaries that top finance and accounting professionals can expect to earn in 2019

Show comments
Subscribe to our daily newsletter