Average Legal Counsel Salary in Brazil for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Legal Counsel salary for 2024 in Brazil 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 Brazilian real. To keep things simple, we are using the BRL currency code instead of the currency symbol R$.

How Much Does a Legal Counsel Make in Brazil?

A Legal Counsel working in Brazil will typically earn around 148,300 BRL per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 77,620 BRL to the highest average salary of 225,700 BRL.

Average Annual Salary
148,300 BRL
Average Monthly Salary
12,358 BRL

Lowest Annual Salary
77,620 BRL
Lowest Monthly Salary
6,468 BRL

Highest Annual Salary
225,700 BRL
Highest Monthly Salary
18,808 BRL

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

Legal Counsel 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 Legal Counsel Salaries in Brazil

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

Salary ranges

We already know that a Legal Counsel can earn between 77,620 BRL and 225,700 BRL on average in Brazil. 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 Legal Counsel in Brazil is 138,800 BRL. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 138,800 BRL, and 50% of the population earn more than 138,800 BRL.

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 Legal Counsel salary in Brazil, 25% of the population are earning less than 95,980 BRL while 75% of the population earn more than 95,980 BRL.

75% of the population earn less than 174,000 BRL, and 25% of the population earn more than 174,000 BRL.

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.

Legal Counsel Salary by Experience Level in Brazil

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 legal counsel 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 Legal Counsel in Brazil that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 86,740 BRL.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Legal Counsel salary would increase to 116,180 BRL.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Legal Counsel, the average salary would be 152,100 BRL.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 183,600 BRL.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Legal Counsel with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 200,000 BRL.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Legal Counsel with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 209,700 BRL.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
86,740 BRL
2-5 Years +34%
116,180 BRL
5-10 Years +30%
152,100 BRL
10-15 Years +21%
183,600 BRL
15-20 Years +9%
200,000 BRL
20+ Years +5%
209,700 BRL

Legal Counsel Salary by Education Level in Brazil

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 Legal Counsel in Brazil 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 Legal Counsel in Brazil with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 123,400 BRL.

  • Master's Degree. A Legal Counsel in Brazil with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 169,000 BRL.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree
123,400 BRL
Master's Degree +39%
169,000 BRL

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 Brazil is around 42,800 to 128,000 BRL 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.

Legal Counsel 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 Brazil, a male legal counsel will earn an average of 154,700 BRL, while a female legal counsel will earn around 142,300 BRL.

This means that a male legal counsel earns approximately 9% more than a female legal counsel for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Brazil

Male
154,700 BRL
Female -9%
142,300 BRL

Legal Counsel Average Pay Raise in Brazil

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 Legal Counsel in Brazil is around 12% every 16 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in Brazil 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 = ( 12 ÷ 16 ) × 12  = 9%

What this means is that a Legal Counsel in Brazil can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 9% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Brazil for 2024

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

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

Banking
3%
Energy
6%
Information Technology
9%
Healthcare
3%
Travel
6%
Construction
9%
Education
3%

Legal Counsel Bonus and Incentive Rates in Brazil

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 Legal Counsel is a moderate bonus based job, with 54% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

46% 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 3% to 5%.

Received Bonus
54%
No Bonus
46%

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 Brazil earn approximately 7% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
106,500 BRL
Private Sector -7%
99,460 BRL

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Legal Counsel

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Legal Counsel in Brazil.

Job Title Category Salary
Administrative Law Judge Legal 277,400 BRL
Arbitrator Legal 128,500 BRL
Associate Attorney Legal 125,700 BRL
Attorney Legal 209,500 BRL
Bailiff Legal 62,860 BRL
Barrister Legal 55,580 BRL
Candidate Attorney Legal 114,820 BRL
Conciliator Legal 103,580 BRL
Contracts Associate Legal 66,140 BRL
Contracts Manager Legal 112,620 BRL
Contracts Negotiator Legal 89,340 BRL
Contracts Specialist Legal 61,780 BRL
Conveyancing Secretary Legal 54,700 BRL
Corporate Counsel Legal 152,000 BRL
Counsel Legal 138,800 BRL
Court Clerk Legal 46,280 BRL
Court Judicial Assistant Legal 76,280 BRL
Court Liaison Specialist Legal 92,880 BRL
Court Reporter Legal 83,020 BRL
Court Representative Legal 58,280 BRL
Crown Prosecution Service Lawyer Legal 281,500 BRL
General Counsel Legal 265,000 BRL
Immigration Executive Legal 138,800 BRL
In House Counsel Legal 146,200 BRL
Intellectual Property Specialist Legal 97,460 BRL
Judge Advocate Legal 221,500 BRL
Law Clerk Legal 48,740 BRL
Lawyer Legal 194,600 BRL
Legal Administrative Assistant Legal 55,580 BRL
Legal Advisor Legal 125,700 BRL
Legal Assistant Legal 51,120 BRL
Legal Associate Legal 93,140 BRL
Legal Consultant Legal 118,060 BRL
Legal Consultant Legal 129,000 BRL
Legal Editor Legal 93,100 BRL
Legal Executive Legal 180,500 BRL
Legal Executive Secretary Legal 56,640 BRL
Legal IP Officer Legal 48,940 BRL
Legal Officer Legal 60,180 BRL
Legal Secretary Legal 54,180 BRL
Legal Services Director Legal 233,600 BRL
Legal Services Manager Legal 232,900 BRL
Legal Support Worker Legal 37,740 BRL
Legislative Liaison Legal 93,340 BRL
Litigation Attorney Legal 240,500 BRL
Litigation Paralegal Legal 123,400 BRL
Magistrate Judge Legal 301,600 BRL
Paralegal Legal 79,600 BRL
Patent Attorney Legal 152,100 BRL
Staff Attorney Legal 159,400 BRL

Salary Comparison by City

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

City Average Salary
Aracaju 142,300 BRL
Belem 157,600 BRL
Belo Horizonte 154,700 BRL
Brasilia 158,700 BRL
Campinas 150,000 BRL
Cuiaba 139,100 BRL
Curitiba 152,300 BRL
Fortaleza 167,100 BRL
Goiania 158,700 BRL
Joao Pessoa 139,100 BRL
Londrina 142,300 BRL
Macapa 136,200 BRL
Maceio 152,000 BRL
Manaus 164,200 BRL
Maringa 125,700 BRL
Natal 146,200 BRL
Petrolina and Juazeiro 128,500 BRL
Porto Alegre 150,000 BRL
Recife 159,100 BRL
Rio de Janeiro 172,200 BRL
Salvador 161,600 BRL
Santos 128,900 BRL
Sao Luis 152,100 BRL
Sao Paulo 172,400 BRL
Teresina 137,400 BRL
Vale do Aco 130,400 BRL
Vitoria 127,700 BRL

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