Law school can be an expensive venture, and salary data is an integral component of making an informed decision when contemplating this career choice. How much a lawyer earns depends on a variety of factors – for example:
The Cravath scale serves as the basis of salaries in many large law firms and can provide opportunities for lawyers employed at such firms to earn market bonuses each year.
Location
Numerous factors affect entry-level attorney salaries, such as geographic location. Prestigious Big Law (or “BigLaw”) firms in major cities such as New York typically offer higher starting salaries to newcomers.
Intellectual property lawyers are among the highest paid, earning anywhere from $87,000 to over $100,000 annually. Employment lawyers specializing in matters affecting employer-employee relations as well as workplace compliance issues often offer market-leading bonuses according to Cravath Scale calculations for full-time employees.
Medical malpractice lawyers rake in big bucks as well, representing patients in lawsuits against doctors, nurses, therapists, and other health care professionals following misdiagnosis, botched surgeries or other medical mistakes. Real estate lawyers tend to earn slightly less, with most earning on average $72,730 according to PayScale.
Specialization
There are various specializations of law which provide higher earning potential, including corporate, tax and intellectual property law. Although these areas of law offer great salary potential, they also tend to be more demanding and stressful on lawyers’ personal lives than others.
Medical malpractice lawyers — those who sue hospitals, doctors, nurses, therapists and other healthcare providers after patients have been injured from their treatments — can earn considerable remuneration in medical malpractice suits against hospitals, doctors, nurses, therapists or other healthcare professionals. Admiralty Law attorneys who specialize in international and private shipping law also find work here lucratively.
Experience and reputation play an integral role in determining a lawyer’s salary. According to data from Clio, attorneys with 11-15 years of experience tend to earn higher median salaries than younger attorneys – likely due to their increased knowledge of law and ability to manage pretrial discussions and settle disputes quickly and amicably. Furthermore, experienced lawyers stand a better chance of landing high-profile cases.
Firm Size
Firm size can have an enormous effect on your salary. For instance, first-year law associate salaries tend to be higher at larger firms (over 1,000 lawyers) compared to smaller ones.
New York, known for its elite law firms and lucrative employment opportunities, is an ideal city for entry-level lawyers to find work. At Big Law firms that charge clients exorbitant fees, entry-level lawyers may earn as much as $245,000 annually – not bad!
However, recent increases in pay at large U.S. law firms has created two-tiered profession: Top associates who make six figures; and everyone else such as prosecutors, public defenders, small town lawyers and private sector workers with much smaller paychecks.
Experience
Lawyers with long careers, strong client bases, and specialized knowledge often command higher salaries. Attorneys in high-demand fields like corporate and securities law or high stakes litigation also often command six-figure pay.
Employment attorneys who specialize in legal matters related to employer-employee relationships tend to command significant compensation. They help businesses reduce legal exposure through preventative measures while representing employees in workplace disputes and litigation cases.
Public sector lawyers and those employed at non-law firms typically make lower starting salaries; however, these individuals may have greater opportunity for advancement quickly and may even receive higher pay than at larger law firms; this helps offset any initial lower starting salaries with increasing income over time.
