Perhaps this partly explains the continuing allure of the US firms in London - after all, they must have something to offer in addition to a bumper wage packet. Generally they offer more benefits, such as pensions, club memberships and private medical insurance, than their UK counterparts. Worryingly for the UK firms that have witnessed a steady stream of high-quality lawyers moving to one of the newly established US firms in London, as many as 83 per cent of lawyers say they would go to a US firm if offered a job. The US influence can also be found in a lawyer's preference of remuneration. Most prefer a mix of the English lockstep remuneration system with the US performance-related one.
Pure lockstep is so unpopular that only nine per cent of respondents see it as a success.
However, despite the growing relevance of the bottom line to their success, most lawyers are just happy to have trained in the profession, rather than undertaking another career with greater financial rewards. More than 60 per cent of lawyers say they would not have chosen a different career, regardless of the money. But perhaps the most startling discovery of the survey is that more than half of women lawyers say they have suffered sexual discrimination at the hands of senior staff. This shows that many employers are still not in the 21st century, despite nearly all companies and firms having anti-sex discrimination policies. All of this illustrates that if employers are to retain their best lawyers they must raise the standards of how they treat them, and provide them with more financial incentives to stay.