Correction … Willy Alstergren’s pay day … Plus, the AG’s Department showers money on private law shops and counsel … Steady annual increases on outlay for lawyers … Happy days … Ginger Snatch reruns the numbers 

Word from the FCFC seeks to correct Ginger’s earlier report on Willy Alstergren’s pay packet. 

Alstergren is head of both divisions. However, a FCFC spokesperson says the CJ collects the first amount, but not the second. 

The salary for the chief judge of Division 2 is just a provision, apparently. 

The Financial Review has Willy down for an annual pay-packet of $1,097,339. This is confusing because it is actually a package, comprising $529,171 in base salary, $479,429 in judicial pension contributions, plus other bits and pieces such as allowances and long service leave. 

The 2023 annual report of the Federal Court of Australia also says that the remuneration of the FCA CJ and the FCFC CJ total $2.885 million. 

Whatever, the spokesman says that Alstergren CJ’s salary is not greater than that of the Chief Justice of the High Court ($649,880). 

Heaven forbid. 

Meantime, the legal services expenditure report for 2022 has been published by the Attorney General’s Department – showing a whopping Commonwealth outlay on lawyers of all stripes of $1.2 billion. 

That includes internal lawyers ($527.48 million, up 8%) and external lawyers ($658.26 million, up 17.1%). 

Over the past five years the average annual increase in the Commonwealth legal services bill, for both internal and external services, works out at 7.6%. 

The increase in external expenditure on lawyers was at the higher rate of 9.8% – comfortably ahead of inflation. 

Apart from the Australian government solicitor on 27% of the fee distribution, the next biggest bite by law firms came from Clayton Utz on 10%, then Sparke Helmore on 8% (keeping all those visa seekers at bay). 

Expenditure on counsel for the 2022 years was $88.29 million, an increase of 1.4% on the previous period. 

The report also details the number and value of briefs and percentage share based on seniority and gender. 

Plus, details are provided of the pro bono hours per lawyer, with Gilbert + Tobin topping the poll for the big service providers at 73.40 hours per lawyer.