With headhunters battering down their doors, derivatives lawyers globally have not been slow to ask for higher pay.

In New York, Edna Messick at E M Messick Legal Recruiting & Consulting says banks pay derivatives lawyers with five years' experience a salary in the region of $150,000, plus a bonus of around 160%.

In London, Siobhan Lewington at search firm Sheffield Haworth says mid-level derivatives lawyers with five years’ post qualification experience can command a base salary of between $158,000 and $177,000, with a bonus of 100% or more.

In Continental Europe, pay is predictably lower. In Milan, Maximillian Redolfi at Michael Page says lawyers with knowledge of derivative documentation can command a base salary of $97,000, plus a 25% bonus. Frankfurt-based Gary Mackney of Neumann Legal Recruitment says German derivatives lawyers can expect a base salary of $145,000, plus a 30% to 70% bonus. In Paris, Antoine Morgaut at Robert Walters says lawyers with experience in products such as collateralised debt obligations can command total packages of $170,000 or more.

In all countries, banks pay mid-ranking derivatives lawyers substantially more than law firms, where base salaries are comparable but bonuses substantially lower. Law firms are digging deep in response: Allen & Overy reportedly boosted salaries for non-partner level lawyers in its London office by 20% last October.

But once lawyers at law firms make it to partner, the financial incentive to quit for a bank disappears. Partners at law firms can make $1.4m or more. Similar packages for general counsels at investment banks are rare.