Of course salaries are a crucial issue. There has been a larger than ever percentage increase in salaries this year. The Silicon Valley firms set the ball in motion earlier in the year when they hiked up salaries and it has not stopped rolling since. The Magic Circle firms responded aggressively while the response so far by the medium sized firms has been varied. Some have set out to directly compete with the global firms while others have made it clear that in the long term, paying these salaries is simply unsustainable for them.
Salaries are of course a high motivator.
But it is not the only motivator. If it were, then the US law firms would be meeting all their ambitious recruitment targets. 4 Gaining additional qualifications Assistants, particularly at the junior level end, are also concerned with the quality of training, the variety of work and the way they are going to be treated. A number of law firms have started to recognise the so-called 'psychological contract' between the employer and the employee. This additional skill set may even take them out of the law, but the commitment by the employer is to develop the individual professionally.