Canadian Legal Sector Salaries Projected to Rise Above National Average

Litigation support and eDiscovery directors could see 5.1 percent salary growth Salaries for several legal positions in Canada are expected to increase above the national average in 2027, according to Robert Half’s latest Salary Guide, which found that 55 percent of hiring managers are offering higher-than-planned salaries to attract top talent. The 2027 Canada Salary Guide projects a 5.1 percent salary increase for litigation support and e-discovery directors, 3.8 percent for law clerk managers, and 2.6 percent for in-house counsel with up to three years of experience. All three positions exceed the projected national average salary increase of 1.4 percent. The guide provides salary projections for new hires across six professional fields, including legal, technology, finance and accounting, marketing and creative, administrative and customer support, and human resources. The report found that 61 percent of managers cited specialized skills as a reason for offering salaries above their planned budgets. Six in 10 organizations are also increasing compensation budgets to attract in-demand professionals despite cost pressures. Artificial intelligence (AI) expertise is another factor influencing compensation decisions. According to the report, 63 percent of managers are increasing pay for professionals with relevant AI skills, while 32 percent offer higher premiums for AI expertise than for other technical skills. “Many employers are moving away from broad-based pay increases and adopting more targeted compensation strategies to invest in specialized and hard-to-find skills that support business priorities,” said Koula Vasilopoulos , senior managing director at Robert Half Canada. The report also identified increased adoption of salary transparency practices. Seventy percent of companies are taking steps beyond legal requirements, while 93 percent of employers use or plan to use external market data to benchmark compensation. Additionally, 96 percent of hiring managers already include or plan to include salary ranges in job descriptions. Employers identified higher-quality candidate pools, more efficient salary negotiations, and reduced hiring times as benefits. Robert Half based its salary benchmarks on market data, insights from its talent solutions professionals, and survey findings from more than 2,850 hiring managers, business leaders, and employed workers across Canada. The Canadian Legal Newswire is a FREE newsletter that keeps you up to date on news and analysis about the Canadian legal scene, providing targeted news and information of interest to Canadian Lawyers. Please enter your email address below to subscribe.