Assistant solicitors are in line for an inflation-busting pay rise this year.

The average anticipated salary increase was 7%, although 16% of the sample were preparing to give their staff pay rises of above 10%.

Interestingly, the medium sized firms were revealed as significantly more generous than the rest. One in four were expecting to offer their assistants pay rises of more than 10%.

Staff turnover also varied significantly depending on which type of firm was asked. The average rate was 9%.

But those firms which were most optimistic about the future reported a much lower rate of turnover – 6% – compared to those firms who believed the market would get worse, whose turnover averaged at 11.5%.