Women lawyers' pay lags behind male colleagues

The scale of the gender pay gap at Britain's law firms was laid bare today when figures showed the average female lawyer is paid £51,396 a year less than a male.

The figures, from legal recruiter Laurence Simons, found men took home an average pay packet worth £162,689 last year, against £111,293 for women.

Women received half the average bonus of men – £23,622 compared with £47,496, and only 76 per cent of the average male lawyer's salary. But the gap is narrowing, as men saw a £5,228 fall in average pay last year while women saw an average rise of £1,391.