Canada’s legal hiring market remains competitive, with many employed professionals reluctant to move unless there’s a clear opportunity to improve their pay, work-life balance or long-term career growth. To secure skilled talent for roles like law clerks and legal assistants, employers may need to ease certain requirements, including practice area experience.

Many candidates are open to trading higher law firm salaries for a better work-life balance. Our research also suggests smaller firms may have an edge over larger organizations with fixed pay grids, as they can offer the kind of work environment many professionals increasingly value. In this market, even slight differentiators in total compensation can provide an advantage.

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Salaries by job category

The salaries below default to national averages. Select a job category and city to find figures for a specific market. Starting compensation—pay for someone new to a role—can vary significantly based on a candidate’s skills, experience and certifications, as well as other factors including industry, company size and revenue, and demand for the role. To reflect this variability, we report our compensation data in three levels: low, mid and high.

Contract Management

Corporate (In-House) Counsel

General Administrative

Law Firm

Law Firm Administration

Legal Specialist

Legal Support

Litigation Support/eDiscovery

Job Title

Low

Mid

High

Contract Manager

82000

102250

116500

Contract Administrator

54500

70500

82000

Low

The candidate is new to the role or has limited experience and is building necessary skills.

Mid

The candidate has moderate experience in the role, meets most requirements or has equivalent transferrable skills, and may also have relevant certifications.

High

The candidate has extensive experience and advanced skills for the role, and may also have specialized certifications.

2026 legal compensation trends in Canada

Many legal departments are pursuing digital transformation and adopting AI tools to enhance efficiency. 53% are implementing solutions specifically to streamline legal research. But wider use of AI in the field may prove challenging given compliance demands and the need for nuanced human oversight.

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of legal departments will participate in a major digital transformation initiative in the next 2 years. of legal departments will participate in a major digital transformation initiative in the next 2 years.

Law firms: balancing expectations and offers

Legal candidates increasingly prioritize work-life balance, favouring roles with flexible schedules or lower billable hour targets.

Lawyer compensation should reflect job requirements, including practice area expertise and specialized skills, leadership responsibilities, and tenure.

Small and midsize law firms that can’t compete on salary can use non-monetary incentives like work flexibility to entice professionals away from larger firms.

The legal skills commanding higher compensation

93% of legal leaders agree with the view that professionals with specialized skills are paid more than peers without them in the same role. Robert Half’s research shows that employers in Canada are offering higher wages to professionals with the following skills, ranked by demand:

Legal technology integration and automation

AI governance

Compliance and risk management

Contract management

Data privacy and analytics

Year-over-year salary gains

+1.5%

projected average increase across legal roles

+3.0%

for senior law clerk and manager roles, who support increasingly heavy workloads.

+2.3%

for litigation support/eDiscovery professionals, especially those in supervisory roles.

+2.1%

for corporate in-house counsel professionals, who deliver valuable specialized expertise.

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of legal leaders are most willing to increase salaries for candidates with specialized skills or certifications. of legal leaders are most willing to increase salaries for candidates with specialized skills or certifications.

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predict that including pay ranges in job descriptions will help them attract and hire skilled talent in 2026. predict that including pay ranges in job descriptions will help them attract and hire skilled talent in 2026.

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rely on guidance from a recruiter when determining salary ranges for emerging roles. rely on guidance from a recruiter when determining salary ranges for emerging roles.

Bridge skills gaps with contract talent

A flexible solution when permanent hiring isn’t an option

Whether you need to navigate a hiring slowdown, cover open roles, or manage workload surges and urgent deadlines, interim professionals can step in quickly with the skills and experience to help keep your law firm or legal department running smoothly. Supplementing your legal team with contract talent can help you stay agile—without the long-term commitment of a full-time hire.

Top certifications and industries

Candidates with in-demand certifications and practice area experience are commanding higher starting salaries, notably in sectors with active hiring and strong demand for specialized skills. These are the most sought-after areas of experience.

Accredited Legal Professional (ALP)

Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP)

Certified eDiscovery Specialist (CEDS)

Certified Legal Manager (CLM)

Ethics and Corporate Governance Law

General Business/Corporate Law

Intellectual Property Law

Labour and Employment Law

Privacy, Data Security and Information Law

Companies in the following sectors are willing to pay top dollar for the right combination of skills and experience. Likewise, these industries are providing the greatest opportunities for career advancement and salary growth.

Educational services

Finance and insurance

Professional services

Public administration

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The salary benchmarks listed in the Salary Guide From Robert Half are the result of a rigorous, multistep process so that our projections accurately reflect the marketplace. They are based on actual compensation for professionals Robert Half has matched with employers across the country and third-party job posting data from Textkernel that we use to independently validate the salary ranges. Learn more about our salary methodology.

Non-salary data referenced in the Salary Guide is based on online surveys developed by Robert Half and conducted by independent research firms. Respondents include hiring managers and workers from small (10-99 employees), midsize (100-999 employees) and large (1,000-plus employees) private, publicly listed and public sector organizations across Canada.