Average Lawyer Salary in India for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Lawyer salary for 2024 in India and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the Indian rupee. To keep things simple, we are using the INR currency code instead of the currency symbol โ‚น.

How Much Does a Lawyer Make in India?

A Lawyer working in India will typically earn around 743,300 INR per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 369,300 INR to the highest average salary of 1,147,600 INR.

Average Annual Salary
743,300 INR
Average Monthly Salary
61,941 INR

Lowest Annual Salary
369,300 INR
Lowest Monthly Salary
30,775 INR

Highest Annual Salary
1,147,600 INR
Highest Monthly Salary
95,633 INR

These are average salaries for a Lawyer in India and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Lawyer to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Lawyer salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Lawyer Salaries in India

So we've looked at the average salaries a Lawyer will earn in India. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Lawyer can earn between 369,300 INR and 1,147,600 INR on average in India. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Lawyer in India is 743,300 INR. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 743,300 INR, and 50% of the population earn more than 743,300 INR.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Lawyer salary in India, 25% of the population are earning less than 500,100 INR while 75% of the population earn more than 500,100 INR.

75% of the population earn less than 945,400 INR, and 25% of the population earn more than 945,400 INR.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Lawyer Salary by Experience Level in India

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average lawyer salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Lawyer in India that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 445,100 INR.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Lawyer salary would increase to 587,800 INR.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Lawyer, the average salary would be 788,000 INR.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 938,700 INR.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Lawyer with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 1,011,300 INR.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Lawyer with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 1,087,500 INR.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
445,100 INR
2-5 Years +32%
587,800 INR
5-10 Years +34%
788,000 INR
10-15 Years +19%
938,700 INR
15-20 Years +8%
1,011,300 INR
20+ Years +7%
1,087,500 INR

Lawyer Salary by Education Level in India

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Lawyer in India based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Lawyer in India with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 571,300 INR.

  • Master's Degree. A Lawyer in India with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 791,200 INR.

  • PhD. A Lawyer in India with a phd education can earn an average salary of 1,037,600 INR.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree
571,300 INR
Master's Degree +38%
791,200 INR
PhD +31%
1,037,600 INR

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in India is around 160,000 to 479,000 INR and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Lawyer Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In India, a male lawyer will earn an average of 761,400 INR, while a female lawyer will earn around 714,300 INR.

This means that a male lawyer earns approximately 7% more than a female lawyer for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in India

Male
761,400 INR
Female -7%
714,300 INR

Lawyer Average Pay Raise in India

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Lawyer in India is around 13% every 16 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in India is around 9% every 16 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 13 ÷ 16 ) × 12  = 10%

What this means is that a Lawyer in India can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 10% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in India for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in India.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking
1%
Energy
2%
Information Technology
3%
Healthcare
4%
Travel
5%
Construction
6%
Education
7%

Lawyer Bonus and Incentive Rates in India

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Lawyer is a high bonus based job, with 82% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

18% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 5% to 8%.

Received Bonus
82%
No Bonus
18%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in India earn approximately 6% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
392,300 INR
Private Sector -6%
371,100 INR

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Lawyer

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Lawyer in India.

Job Title Category Salary
Administrative Law Judge Legal 1,025,100 INR
Arbitrator Legal 467,100 INR
Associate Attorney Legal 485,300 INR
Attorney Legal 743,300 INR
Bailiff Legal 233,600 INR
Barrister Legal 197,600 INR
Candidate Attorney Legal 428,400 INR
Conciliator Legal 369,300 INR
Contracts Associate Legal 239,000 INR
Contracts Manager Legal 428,400 INR
Contracts Negotiator Legal 341,400 INR
Contracts Specialist Legal 239,000 INR
Conveyancing Secretary Legal 197,600 INR
Corporate Counsel Legal 539,700 INR
Counsel Legal 539,700 INR
Court Clerk Legal 172,200 INR
Court Judicial Assistant Legal 283,700 INR
Court Liaison Specialist Legal 330,900 INR
Court Reporter Legal 283,700 INR
Court Representative Legal 227,600 INR
Crown Prosecution Service Lawyer Legal 1,025,100 INR
General Counsel Legal 970,600 INR
Immigration Executive Legal 514,300 INR
In House Counsel Legal 539,700 INR
Intellectual Property Specialist Legal 369,300 INR
Judge Advocate Legal 798,900 INR
Law Clerk Legal 172,200 INR
Legal Administrative Assistant Legal 197,600 INR
Legal Advisor Legal 454,900 INR
Legal Assistant Legal 197,600 INR
Legal Associate Legal 345,700 INR
Legal Consultant Legal 454,900 INR
Legal Counsel Legal 539,700 INR
Legal Editor Legal 351,900 INR
Legal Executive Legal 684,900 INR
Legal Executive Secretary Legal 204,000 INR
Legal IP Officer Legal 183,600 INR
Legal Officer Legal 227,600 INR
Legal Secretary Legal 204,000 INR
Legal Services Director Legal 854,300 INR
Legal Services Manager Legal 854,300 INR
Legal Support Worker Legal 143,200 INR
Legislative Liaison Legal 357,300 INR
Litigation Attorney Legal 913,400 INR
Litigation Paralegal Legal 454,900 INR
Magistrate Judge Legal 1,138,300 INR
Paralegal Legal 283,700 INR
Patent Attorney Legal 558,300 INR
Staff Attorney Legal 588,500 INR

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in India, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
agra 679,200 INR
Ahmadabad 800,200 INR
Bangalore 814,100 INR
Bhopal 714,300 INR
Chennai 816,900 INR
Coimbatore 728,500 INR
Delhi 819,000 INR
Ghaziabad 728,500 INR
Hyderabad 814,100 INR
Indore 790,600 INR
Jaipur 792,900 INR
Kanpur 751,700 INR
Kolkata 816,000 INR
Lucknow 767,000 INR
Ludhiana 731,700 INR
Madurai 688,900 INR
Mumbai 882,400 INR
Nagpur 798,900 INR
Patna 698,200 INR
Pimpri-Chinchwad 721,600 INR
Pune 824,800 INR
Surat 783,800 INR
Vadodara 683,400 INR
Visakhapatnam 712,100 INR

Salary Comparison by State

The table below includes links to the average salary for each state in India.

City Average Salary
Andaman & Nicobar Islands 629,800 INR
Andhra Pradesh 816,900 INR
Arunachal Pradesh 695,200 INR
Assam 800,500 INR
Bihar 899,200 INR
Chandigarh 677,100 INR
Chhatisgarh 799,300 INR
Dadra & Nagar Haveli 672,600 INR
Daman & Diu 658,300 INR
Delhi 791,600 INR
Goa 724,000 INR
Gujarat 800,200 INR
Haryana 739,500 INR
Himachal Pradesh 713,900 INR
Jammu & Kashmir 736,700 INR
Jharkhand 800,200 INR
Karnataka 838,100 INR
Kerala 803,400 INR
Lakshadweep 631,200 INR
Madhya Pradesh 879,700 INR
Maharashtra 902,100 INR
Manipur 741,500 INR
Meghalaya 737,000 INR
Mizoram 702,800 INR
Nagaland 739,500 INR
Orissa 866,900 INR
Pondicherry 658,300 INR
Punjab 767,000 INR
Rajasthan 840,800 INR
Sikkim 646,600 INR
Tamil Nadu 844,600 INR
Tripura 725,700 INR
Uttar Pradesh 908,200 INR
Uttaranchal 746,600 INR
West Bengal 890,100 INR

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