A Legal Advisor is a person who provides legal advice, often in an official capacity. Government officials that qualify as lawyers (jurist) in certain countries can get the title Legal Adviser.
Below are salaries earn by A Legal Advisor In South Africa
A person working as a Legal Advisor in South Africa typically earns around 37,800 ZAR per month. Salaries range from 17,400 ZAR (lowest) to 60,100 ZAR (highest).
This is the average monthly salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. Legal Advisor salaries vary drastically based on experience, skills, gender, or location. Below you will find a detailed breakdown based on many different criteria.
Legal Advisor Salary Distribution in South Africa
The median, the maximum, the minimum, and the range
Salary Range
Legal Advisor salaries in South Africa range from 17,400 ZAR per month (minimum salary) to 60,100 ZAR per month (maximum salary).
Median Salary
The median salary is 40,800 ZAR per month, which means that half (50%) of people working as Legal Advisor(s) are earning less than 40,800 ZAR while the other half are earning more than 40,800 ZAR. The median represents the middle salary value. Generally speaking, you would want to be on the right side of the graph with the group earning more than the median salary.
Percentiles
Closely related to the median are two values: the 25th and the 75th percentiles. Reading from the salary distribution diagram, 25% of Legal Advisor(s) are earning less than 26,200 ZAR while 75% of them are earning more than 26,200 ZAR. Also from the diagram, 75% of Legal Advisor(s) are earning less than 54,500 ZAR while 25% are earning more than 54,500 ZAR.
Legal Advisor Salary Comparison by Years of Experience
How does experience and age affect your pay?
The experience level is the most important factor in determining the salary. Naturally the more years of experience the higher your wage. We broke down Legal Advisor salaries by experience level and this is what we found.
A Legal Advisor with less than two years of experience makes approximately 19,700 ZAR per month.
While someone with an experience level between two and five years is expected to earn 26,300 ZAR per month, 34% more than someone with less than two year’s experience.
Moving forward, an experience level between five and ten years lands a salary of 38,900 ZAR per month, 48% more than someone with two to five years of experience.
Additionally, Legal Advisor(s) whose expertise span anywhere between ten and fifteen years get a salary equivalent to 47,500 ZAR per month, 22% more than someone with five to ten years of experience.
If the experience level is between fifteen and twenty years, then the expected wage is 51,700 ZAR per month, 9% more than someone with ten to fifteen years of experience.
Lastly, employees with more than twenty years of professional experience get a salary of 56,000 ZAR per month, 8% more than people with fifteen to twenty years of experience.
Legal Advisor average salary change by experience in South Africa
| 0 – 2 Years | 19,700 ZAR | |
| 2 – 5 Years | +34% | 26,300 ZAR |
| 5 – 10 Years | +48% | 38,900 ZAR |
| 10 – 15 Years | +22% | 47,500 ZAR |
| 15 – 20 Years | +9% | 51,700 ZAR |
| 20+ Years | +8% | 56,000 ZAR |
Legal Advisor Salary Comparison By Education
We all know that higher education equals a bigger salary, but how much more money can a degree add to your income? We broke down Legal Advisor salaries by education level in order to make a comparison.
When the education level is Bachelor’s Degree, the average salary of a Legal Advisor is 22,900 ZAR per month.
While someone with a Master’s Degree gets a salary of 44,300 ZAR per month, 93% more than someone having a Bachelor’s Degree degree.
Legal Advisor average salary difference by education level in South Africa
| Bachelor’s Degree | 22,900 ZAR | |
| Master’s Degree | +93% | 44,300 ZAR |
Legal Advisor Salary Comparison By Gender
Though gender should not have an effect on pay, in reality, it does. So who gets paid more: men or women? Male Legal Advisor employees in South Africa earn 12% more than their female counterparts on average.
| Male | 39,900 ZAR | |
| Female | -11% | 35,700 ZAR |
Legal Advisor Average Annual Salary Increment Percentage in South Africa
How much are annual salary increments in South Africa for Legal Advisor(s)?
How often do employees get salary raises?
Legal Advisor
Legal Advisor(s) in South Africa are likely to observe a salary increase of approximately 11% every 18 months. The national average annual increment for all professions combined is 8% granted to employees every 18 months.
Legal Advisor Bonus and Incentive Rates in South Africa
How much and how often are bonuses being awarded?
A Legal Advisor is considered to be a high bonus-based job due to the generally limited involvement in direct revenue generation, with exceptions of course. The people who get the highest bonuses are usually somehow involved in the revenue generation cycle.
16% of surveyed staff reported that they haven’t received any bonuses or incentives in the previous year while 84% said that they received at least one form of monetary bonus.
Those who got bonuses reported rates ranging from 5% to 9% of their annual salary.
Received Bonus
84%
No Bonus
16%
Legal Advisor Average Hourly Wage in South Africa
The average hourly wage (pay per hour) in South Africa is 220 ZAR. This means that the average Legal Advisor in South Africa earns approximately 220 ZAR for every worked hour.
How much does a legal advisor earn per month in South Africa?
In South Africa a legal advisor with 1-3 years of experience can expect to earn between R350 – 550k whilst a qualified lawyer with over 10 years experience would earn R1. 1m+.
How do I become a legal advisor in South Africa?
Requirements:
A 4-year Law degree (preferably with a Master’s degree in Law) with majors in Constitutional and administrative Law and Admission as an Advocate/Attorney of the High Court.
Minimum 5 years’ post-admission experience as a Legal Adviser.
What qualifications do you need to be a legal advisor in South Africa ?
College. You could qualify as a legal advisor by completing a Level 3 Professional Diploma in Law and Practice or a Level 6 Professional Higher Diploma in Law and Practice. After completing a college qualification, you would need to complete a further three-year period of qualifying employment.
How many years does it take to become a legal advisor in South Africa ?
BA LLB is a 5 years professional integrated law course pursued by students who aspire to become a lawyer, an advocate, a legal practitioner or simply want to make a career in law or judiciary.
Is being a legal advisor hard in South Africa ?
Deadlines, billing pressures, client demands, long hours, changing laws, and other demands all combine to make the practice of law one of the most stressful jobs out there. Throw in rising business pressures, evolving legal technologies, and climbing law school debt and it’s no wonder lawyers are stressed.
Can a legal advisor become a judge in South Africa ?
The Judicial Appointments Commission is working hard to encourage judicial applications from individuals from a wide range of backgrounds. So to become a judge you must first have practiced law – as a solicitor, barrister or legal executive – for a good few years. (Indeed, legal academics can become judges too.)