The Law Society has quietly abandoned its minimum trainee pay benchmark, The Law Society Gazette has reported.

The Gazette, the Law Society's own official publication, revealed that the representative body for solicitors in England and Wales no longer maintains a recommended minimum salary for trainee solicitors. The change drew attention because of the low-key manner in which it was made — no prominent announcement accompanied the withdrawal of the benchmark.

The benchmark has historically functioned as a reference point for law firms setting trainee solicitor salaries. Firms were not legally obliged to pay the recommended rate, but the figure carried weight in recruitment negotiations and in sector-wide discussions about entry-level pay and access to the profession.

The Law Society is the professional body that represents solicitors in England and Wales. Its Gazette report is the sole public indication of the decision at this stage. The Society has not, according to the report, publicised the abandonment of the benchmark through a formal statement or consultation outcome.

Practical consequence for practitioners

For training principals and HR teams at law firms, the removal of the benchmark removes a widely cited reference figure when setting trainee salaries. Firms recruiting trainees will no longer be able to point to a Law Society-recommended minimum in pay discussions, and candidates negotiating training contracts will lose that same yardstick. The practical effect is that trainee remuneration becomes a matter of pure market negotiation between firm and candidate, without the professional body's indicative floor. Firms that previously aligned their pay scales with the benchmark may wish to review their internal salary structures and recruitment materials for references to the now-abandoned recommendation.

Context

The training contract sits at the heart of the route to qualification as a solicitor in England and Wales, governed by the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) framework and the training principles set by the sector's regulator. The Law Society, as the representative body rather than the regulator, issues guidance such as the pay benchmark on a voluntary basis for the profession.

The Gazette's report of the quiet withdrawal raises questions about transparency in how the Society communicates changes to its guidance. As of the date of the report, no detailed explanation of the rationale for the decision, nor any replacement mechanism for advising firms on trainee pay, had been set out publicly.

Practitioners seeking confirmation of the current status of any Law Society guidance on trainee remuneration should consult the Society's own published materials directly, as the benchmark's withdrawal means prior versions of the recommendation no longer reflect the body's position.