Legal Support Salary & Benefits Guide 2026 | UK Market Insights

Accurate salary benchmarks and benefits insight for legal support professionals and law firms in the UK.

The legal support market remains highly competitive, with law firms facing increasing pressure to attract and retain experienced Legal PAs, Legal Secretaries and Executive Assistants. Salary expectations are rising across legal support roles, while benefits, flexibility and work-life balance are playing a greater role in hiring and retention decisions.

The Birchrose Associates Legal Support Salary & Benefits Guide 2026 provides a detailed overview of legal support salaries in the UK, alongside insight into the benefits and working trends shaping the legal support recruitment market.

Built using survey data from legal support professionals working across a wide range of law firms, the guide supports both employers and candidates with clear, up-to-date market intelligence.

UK legal support salary trends

Our findings confirm that legal support salary benchmarks vary significantly by role, experience and seniority.

• Legal PA salaries in the UK show steady progression from early-career to mid-career levels, with increased earning potential for those supporting senior fee earners or leadership teams

• Legal Secretary salaries continue to reflect experience and practice area exposure, with senior professionals achieving higher and more competitive salary bands

• Legal Executive Assistants command the highest salary ranges within legal support roles, reflecting the strategic nature of EA positions within modern law firms

The guide includes salary ranges across Legal PAs, Legal Secretaries and Legal EAs, broken down by years of experience, offering clear legal support salary benchmarks for the UK market.

Legal support roles, experience and earning potential

The data highlights clear correlations between experience level and salary expectations:

• Early-career legal support professionals prioritise progression and training alongside salary

• Mid-level Legal PAs and Legal Secretaries see the strongest salary movement, particularly in firms with complex practice areas

• Senior legal support professionals, including Executive Assistants, maintain strong earning potential due to depth of experience and operational responsibility

These insights are particularly valuable for law firms reviewing salary structures and for candidates benchmarking legal support job salaries in the UK.

Benefits and motivators in legal support recruitment

Beyond pay, the guide highlights how benefits and working patterns influence legal support recruitment and retention.

Key findings include:

• Hybrid and flexible working ranking highly across legal support jobs

• Annual leave and pension contributions remaining core benefits for legal support professionals

• Work-life balance and role stability becoming increasingly important for mid-to-senior candidates

• Clear role scope and expectations influencing long-term retention

Understanding these motivators allows law firms to strengthen their employer brand and remain competitive within the legal support recruitment market.

Why law firms use the Birchrose Legal Support Salary Guide

For law firms and hiring managers, the guide provides:

• Reliable legal support salary benchmarks in the UK

• Insight into rising salary pressure across Legal PA, Legal Secretary and EA roles

• Data to support competitive offers and retention strategies

• Greater confidence during salary reviews and offer negotiations

   

The full Birchrose Associates Legal Support Salary & Benefits Guide 2026 includes:

• Detailed legal support salary tables by role and experience

• Expanded benefits and motivators analysis

• Market commentary from specialist legal support recruiters

Whether you are hiring legal support professionals or considering your next career move, this guide delivers the insight you need.

Download your copy today.