I understand that its a complex question, but I will try to explain my situation firstly and my questions next.

I am an Indian Lawyer trying to qualify as a Solicitor under the QLTT 2009 route. Recently I started working in a Small Law Firm in North West part of UK.

I have been trying to find the average salary of a Solicitor in UK. Pls note that I am not talking about the Solicitors who are working in the Magic-circle law firms in the main cities or even the corporate law firms. I am trying to find out as to what an ordinary Solicitor can earn in UK. I understand that it's a difficult question we have to take into consideration various factors.

The reason I wanted to know about the salaries is that, the kind of stress that we have to undergo in UK Law firms has increased tremendously recently. It's a good system because there are checks and balances but the stresses are more than the gains. I feel that to earn GBP 40,000 - 50,000 takes atleast 5-10 or even 15 years for some in UK (cant forget the 40% taxes) and to earn similar salaries in India it would take similar time (thankfully we pay less taxes). Now what I find is that - the growth of an average Lawyer in India is more rewarding and less stressful than that of a Solicitor in UK. So just wanted a general opinion on this.

My next question is - do you think qualifying as a UK Solicitor makes any difference in India? I found that it does not make a big difference here or there. Currently there isn't really a demand for Indian Solicitors in UK except for very few Magic-Circle law firms who represent on behalf of their UK corporates. I understand that it's again circumstantial but is dual qualification really an advantage especially when Indian-Legal market is being questioned so many times to open up for the foreign firms in future?

I kindly request any Indian Solicitor in UK to throw some light on the above issues.

Thank You,