Salary at Clayton Utz

The discrepancy of pay between graduates in different states seems unfair

Pay is in accordance with market rates and bonuses are available. No issues here.

I am happy with the pay as it is generally in line with the market

As far as I know, I am paid at the market standard.

My peers in other law firms similar to CU earn more.

They could be clearer. I appreciate that factors other than billables need to be accounted for but it looks like even when you hit billables beyond many other teams, it is still up to the discretion of your partner to provide the bonus. For a top-tier law firm, pay is good but below most competitors. This is very much noticed amongst juniors, who talk to friends at other firms.

I think the pay is good for my level. I think the bonus initiatives are disproportionately high, although this has not been something I have looked into much.

For the work you do and the hours you do, the pay is not up to par. You get billed out at a minimum of $380 ish an hour as a graduate and yet you're only walking away with max $40 an hour. You're only paid on a weekly basis on fixed hours, with no account for the fact that you can work 10, 20 or more hours per week without payment for it. Obviously bonuses are there to counteract that but they are not nearly sufficient and they are heavily skewed towards keeping massive fee earners t the firm who are partners and high level SCs

It can be higher considering the higher cost of living in Canberra.

We have yet to receive bonuses for our work. Pay is good but anticipated a pay raise from graduate to lawyer.

Not really that market-competitive despite the slideshow graphs wheeled around. Would do better moving to another top-tier in Sydney or Canberra.

The graduate bonus plan is somewhat unclear and appears to be left to the discretion of Partners who do not necessarily have the time to assess this. Pay otherwise appears to match market. My feelings on satisfaction with pay depend on the average hours I am working.

Very good pay for a first job straight out of uni - still some confusion about whether or not admission would trigger a raise. Understand that the next pay rise should be around 20% but don't know any rates after that so would be good to have transparency about what the expected pay would be at the senior associate level.

My pay is commensurate with the value I provide.

The pay for graduates is above average but considered low for a big 6 firm. I do think that the pay should be higher to attract and retain talent if the company wants to maintain its standing as a leading law firm in Australia. In terms of bonuses, I currently only have access to the graduate excellence program bonus scheme, but it does seem pretty accessible if you are meeting your targets and get enough work.

The bonus scheme for graduates is not transparent, and is very discretionary. Even when off the graduate program, I do not expect to be satisfied with the bonus structure. From what I have seen already at the firm, there is a lot of bonus protection by more senior people, to the point where i do not see that there is any realistic prospect of juniors getting a bonus. While it is important that it is clear what the bonus and performance requirements are, there also needs to be equal opportunity to perform to that level, and this does not currently exist. The approach in law has always been that you have to do your time as a junior, and this dated approach is still around on this front.

Base salary is good. However, more bonus opportunities would be good. The current bonus criteria is burdensome (e.g. time lags and billable targets) and sometimes depends on external factors outside of our control. The bonus is not significant.

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I believe we are paid extremely well and there are good and fair opportunities for bonuses.

Great opportunities for pay and bonuses, provided one satisfies the relevant preconditions.

AIA Vitality is the best perks that we get which provides for discounts

Free lunches and dinners are a mainstay in being a top-tier lawyer because you are attending client lunches.

Dinner after 7pm (either firm dinner or comped UberEats), taxis home if you work late, some health related perks (discounted gym membership, free Apple Watch/Garmin, free skin checks), lots of firm events/free meals

There are a variety of perks and subsidies. There are perks for most things you can think of which is great!

Perks include cabs home after 7pm and dinner after 7pm. There are not many extra perks for CU employees.

The team is generous with paid events and will accommodate ubers home / meals when working late.

Perks are pretty good, but I guess standard for a law firm (cabs and meals after a certain hour). Good mental health benefits. The bulk of benefits step from AIA vitality mebership though. Was surprised there weren't more retail discounts/benefits and complimentary perks. I have worked at much smaller organisations with more perks.

Taxis and dinner after 6:15 (most of the time)

I don't think there are many perks. I use AIA vitality.

I think the free 24 hour psychology appointments are an excellent perk. The food and after hours taxi's are also great. The AIA program is also pretty good. However, for many juniors (like all) feeling the impacts of cost of living, I think the firm is lacking in the perks it provides Many firms of the same size provide entirely free coffee or vouchers rather than marginally subsidised coffee. We don't need our own cafe, we need affordable coffee or at least a machine on the floors. While the parental leave entitlements are good, the annual leave days are standard. Other firms offer additional annual leave days which I think are appreciated by staff more than an increase in pay. Many other organisations also offer tangible discounts or free gym memberships, dinners or events. Take the gym membership, AIA offers discounts for fitness first and Virgin active, both of which are on the more expensive spectrum of health and fitness. Subsidising a luxury fitness pass to make it barely affordable is not helpful for many juniors who are not earning big salaries. We would much prefer a free pass at a standard gym rather than a subsidised luxury pass. Similarly, a free dinner voucher or movie ticket would go a long way in making staff feel appreciated (also much cheaper than a pay rise).

Pro bono and secondment opportunities are great! There are also some great social events such as bake sale, karaoke night, trivia night, Melbourne cup lunch and Easter lunch, EOFY party.

Taxis after 8pm, they give you dinner from 6pm, AiA vitality

Great social events that provide alot, AIA Vitality is great but maybe a better gym membership that makes it free? Some other firms have free gym memberships as the gym is located in their building, I think this would be great.

Nice amount of free food at work, really makes life a lot simpler - don't have to worry about having milk for coffee, running out of breakky cereal, fruit... really good. I love that.

Parental leave

Not a lot of external perks but we get nice catering for everything

Many team lunches and social events to attend.

Events and providing food

For a graduate, you sometimes get catered lunches and morning/afternoon tea if you have training or some other event. There is free dinner and paid Ubers home if you work past a certain time (7-8pm depending on Daylight savings), but the dinner selection can be pretty underwhelming. The best perk is probably the AIA vitality program where you get rewards for being active/healthy - this has been a great money saver.

Unsure.