Am I Being Underpaid?
In-house salaries are often the punchline. They’re seen as laughably low compared to those of private practice counterparts. It’s important to do your own research though, and to not let assumptions end up costing you more than you bargained for.
Unlike private practice where pay bands are often transparent and progression more predictable, in-house compensation can be mysterious, inconsistent and heavily influenced by factors that have little to do with your actual contribution. Over time, this can quietly lead to underpayment, especially if you don’t actively check in with yourself and the market.
So how do you know if you’re being underpaid?
Start with awareness, not comparison
Although this may be helpful later, the first step isn’t jumping on LinkedIn to compare yourself to everyone else. Not every company advertises salaries and in-house jobs include so many nuances that using this as a first tactic may create more noise than clarity. Instead, start by building awareness of your own role and value.
Ask yourself:
What problems am I actually solving for the business?
How much risk do I manage or prevent?
How often am I relied on for judgement, not just execution?
Have my responsibilities grown beyond my original job description?
In-house roles evolve fast. It’s common to take on additional remits without formal title changes or salary adjustments. If your scope has expanded significantly over time, that’s your first signal to pause and take stock.
Use the market as a mirror, not a threat
You don’t need to be job hunting to understand your market value. In fact, the best time to do this is when you’re relatively content and clear-headed. Every in-house lawyer should be able to cite market rate bands for their role at any point. Keeping on top of this will prevent you from being on the back foot and feeling demotivated financially.
Here are three practical, low-risk ways to do it.
1. Check job posts (properly)
Regularly scan in-house legal roles that feel genuinely comparable to yours. Focus less on titles and more on:
scope and seniority;
decision-making responsibility;
location (London office-based roles always pay more due to cost of living, although location is becoming less relevant);
industry and company size; and
whether the role is standalone (Sole Counsel) or part of a larger team.
Where salary ranges are listed, note them over time rather than reacting to one-off numbers. Patterns matter more than outliers. If roles with similar or narrower scope consistently sit above your pay, that’s useful data.
Even where salaries aren’t advertised, the language used can still be telling. If a role sounds like what you’re already doing, but is being pitched as “senior”, “lead” or “strategic”, that’s another quiet signal worth paying attention to.
Salary comparator
2. Speak to recruiters (even if you’re not moving)
Recruiters often have the clearest view of what the market is actually paying, not just what companies claim to pay.
You don’t need a dramatic “I’m looking to leave” conversation. A simple, low-pressure check-in can give you valuable insight:
where your profile currently sits in the market;
how your compensation compares to similar roles; and
what skills or experience tend to attract higher pay.
Good recruiters won’t push you to move if you’re not ready. Think of them as a source of market intelligence, not just job brokers.
Most good recruiters also have access to free salary guides too- tracking these annually should provide you with the information you need to stay up to date.
3. Have honest conversations with peers
This may not come naturally to everyone, but it’s often the most grounding reality check.
Speak to peers you trust, particularly those:
in similar industries or company sizes;
who have recently moved roles; or
qualified around the same time as you.
You don’t need to swap exact numbers if that feels awkward. Even high-level ranges or directional insight (“that sounds low/high for your scope”) can be incredibly helpful. These conversations often reveal just how much variation exists—and how easily people fall behind without realising.
If you don’t have peers in a similar role to you, chats with those further afield can be helpful too. Friend in private practice? Don’t discredit that intel, if anything, it may confirm you’re not being underpaid after all.
Performance does not automatically equal pay progression
This is an important one. Doing excellent work does not guarantee pay increases in-house.
Budgets are set well in advance, and although attitudes are slowly starting to change, Legal is often seen as a cost centre. Alongside this, managers may assume you’re content unless you say otherwise. None of this reflects your worth, but it does affect outcomes.
If you’ve had strong performance reviews, taken on more responsibility and continued to deliver without meaningful compensation changes, that’s not a personal failure. It’s a sign that a pay rise conversation needs prompting.
Pay attention to how compensation decisions are actually made in your organisation. Who is the budget holder? When are they discussed? Who influences them? What narratives tend to land? Understanding this context matters just as much as knowing your market value. It may take time to find answers to these questions but it will help you for the rest of your tenure.
Quantify the financial benefits
Salary is only one part of the equation, but it’s often the one people fixate on most. To get a clearer picture, you need to step back and quantify the full package in real terms. What is your bonus actually paying out year on year? How valuable is your private healthcare when you consider what you’d realistically spend without it? If you have a company car or allowance, what would that cost you personally on a monthly basis? Do you often get to travel and experience new countries for free?
Some benefits are straightforward to quantify, others less so. Share schemes, pension contributions and retention bonuses can add meaningful value over time, but only if they are structured well and actually vest. Equally, discretionary bonuses that rarely materialise shouldn’t be counted at face value. Be honest about what you consistently receive, not what is theoretically possible.
Once you’ve done this, sense-check the total against your market range. A strong benefits package can bump up a lower base salary, but it may not bridge a significant gap. If you find yourself relying heavily on benefits to make the numbers feel acceptable and they don’t mean much to you, that’s worth interrogating further.
Factor in the non-financial trade-offs (honestly)
In-house roles often come with excellent benefits beyond salary too: flexibility, autonomy, interesting work, proximity to decision-making, healthier culture, permissions to pursue other financial interests alongside your role…the list goes on. These things matter, and it’s reasonable to value them.
The risk is using them to justify long-term underpayment.
Ask yourself:
Would I still feel fairly compensated if one of these benefits changed?
Am I consciously accepting lower pay for now, or just drifting into it?
Does this trade-off still align with my current priorities and life stage?
Being underpaid isn’t just about numbers. It’s about whether the overall package still feels intentional and fair. This is something only you can have a feel for. Knowing what’s important to you is a huge element of salary considerations and fulfiness as a whole.
Over to you…
Many in-house lawyers stay underpaid for years simply because they never stop to check. Not because they lack confidence or capability, but because they’re loyal, focused on doing good work and afraid to rock the boat.
Higher salaries are available in-house, it just takes some research to understand what that looks like.
Take the time to sense-check your value. Use the market as information, not pressure. Be honest about whether your compensation still reflects your contribution and priorities. And remember: asking the question doesn’t make you difficult, disloyal or ungrateful.
Being deliberate about your pay is part of being deliberate about your career. You’ve worked hard to get here, so make sure the numbers tell the same story.