Legal Counsel Salary in London
Official ONS earnings for London, covering 42,000 jobs.
Median salary — London
£75,537
gross, per year, all employees
▲ 14.6% change on the previous year
Mean
£105,475
Jobs measured
42,000
What a typical legal counsel takes home
On the median of £75,537, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£4,531
Take-home a year
£54,369
Income Tax
£17,647
National Insurance
£3,521
What most legal counsels actually earn
Half of legal counsels across the UK earn between £37,751 and £74,190. Earning above £74,190 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.
This range is UK-wide — ONS publishes no regional breakdown of the spread for this occupation.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of legal counsels earn less than this.
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Solicitors and lawyers
- SOC 2020 code
- 2412
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
ONS doesn't measure “legal counsel” as its own category. These figures are for the wider group “Solicitors and lawyers”, which includes this role alongside others. ONS group combines solicitors and lawyers; in-house and private practice are not separated.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are estimates from a survey of PAYE jobs and are not financial advice.
Legal Counsel salary FAQs
What is the average Legal Counsel salary in London?
The median is £75,537 a year and the mean is £105,475, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; ASHE publishes no full-time split at regional level.
How much does a legal counsel earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £30.66 excluding overtime, or £30.83 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only, so there is no separate rate for London.
What is a good Legal Counsel salary?
Half of legal counsels earn between £37,751 and £74,190. Anything above £74,190 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a legal counsel?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of legal counsels earn under £26,807 and the lowest quarter under £37,751 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
Do legal counsels in London earn more than the UK average?
The median in London is £75,537 against £53,314 across the UK, 41.7% higher.
Has legal counsel pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +14.6% for this occupation in London. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many legal counsels are there in London?
ASHE counts around 42,000 employee jobs in “Solicitors and lawyers” (SOC 2412) in London. Self-employed work is not included.
Is this figure official?
Yes. It comes from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, an accredited official statistic based on employer PAYE records.
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