2015 was the last year when major pay hikes happened in the tier 1 law market due to Amarchand split. The lowest salary grade (A0) became 15L then.
Even accounting for an average inflation rate of 5% per year, the indexed salary should be 20.1L. That implies a pay hike of at least 33% across pay bands just to keep up with inflation.
Anyone who has prepared mandates in 2015 and right now would know that hike in hourly rates has been much greater (roughly from 8000 per hour to 12500 per hour approx as per law firms' own submission for journals rankings). That would be more than 55% increase between 2015 to 2021. Even assuming client pushback, it would be absolutely unreasonable to argue that law firms cannot afford to keep up with basic inflation.
The only real factor so far has been the disproportionate bargaining power. With attrition at an all time high, law firms are finding it very very difficult right to find associates at senior levels. While you may have 20 different law colleges lining up for an A0 job, anyone who has been a partner would know how rare a commodity SAs and PAs have become.
If I was at their stage right now - SA and above - I would use this opportunity to properly negotiate a major hike during interviews. Given my workload, I would gladly pay a 30% premium for an SA/PA if the candidate bargained for it.
Even accounting for an average inflation rate of 5% per year, the indexed salary should be 20.1L. That implies a pay hike of at least 33% across pay bands just to keep up with inflation.
Anyone who has prepared mandates in 2015 and right now would know that hike in hourly rates has been much greater (roughly from 8000 per hour to 12500 per hour approx as per law firms' own submission for journals rankings). That would be more than 55% increase between 2015 to 2021. Even assuming client pushback, it would be absolutely unreasonable to argue that law firms cannot afford to keep up with basic inflation.
The only real factor so far has been the disproportionate bargaining power. With attrition at an all time high, law firms are finding it very very difficult right to find associates at senior levels. While you may have 20 different law colleges lining up for an A0 job, anyone who has been a partner would know how rare a commodity SAs and PAs have become.
If I was at their stage right now - SA and above - I would use this opportunity to properly negotiate a major hike during interviews. Given my workload, I would gladly pay a 30% premium for an SA/PA if the candidate bargained for it.