Legal Commentary

New Lawyer Salary Distribution Has a New Shape

By Professor University of Miami School of Law

Bill Henderson, Empirical Legal Studies: The End of an Era: the Bi-Modal Distribution for the Class of 2008:

Of the 22,305 law school graduates in NALP’s sample (over half of all 2008 graduates), a remarkable 23% (5,130 ‘08 grads) reported an entry-level salary of $160,000. In contrast, 42% of entry level lawyers reported salaries in the $40,000 to $65,000 range. Once again, the central tendencies are a poor guide to the distribution as a whole: whereas the mean salary is a $92,000, the median salary was $72,000. Further, the two modes ($50,000 and $160,000) are separated by $110,000.

Amidst all the layoffs, deferrals, salary cuts, and apprenticeship programs announced in 2009, it is safe to venture that the bi-modal era has peaked. Every law school class for the foreseeable future will graduate to a much different economic landscape. Although many students will regret the opportunity to earn such a big payday upon graduation, it brought with it intense billing pressure, client resentment, heavy leverage, and very little substantive training for new hires. I would argue that profession as a whole (including current and future graduating classes) is better off with a lower entry level salary.

Admittedly that is a long-term view for the profession as a whole. In the short term, current students and recent graduates are in a world of hurt.

And that hurt is spelled D-E-B-T. This has to have implications for law schools.

Full post as published by Discourse.net on July 02, 2009 (boomark / email).