Lawyers work as advisors and advocates to their clients and they are responsible for presenting arguments and evidences that support them. Lawyers generally specialize in a certain area of legal practice, such as business, family, environmental law, among others.
Most of legal professional as lawyers work in private practices dealing with either civil or criminal law cases. Lawyers, who practice civil law, support their clients in such matters as litigation, wills, contracts, mortgages, etc. On the other hand, lawyers who practice criminal law represent clients who have been charged with crimes and defend them in courts of law. Other lawyers work in government offices, corporations, non-profit organizations, universities, etc.
The role of corporate lawyers (house counsel) is to advise companies on legal issues related to its business operations such as government regulations, contracts, patents, etc. Government lawyers work for public defenders, prosecutors, and within the courts. They help in developing programs and laws and fighting government civil and criminal cases. Lawyers/Attorneys at the Federal level, investigate cases for the United States Department of Justice and other agencies. Lawyers who work for non-profit organizations help needy people in handling their civil cases and a small number of lawyers work at universities as professors.
Like every profession, lawyer salaries in initial years are less. New lawyers usually assist the senior lawyers in the initial years. According to latest reports, the average salary for lawyers at the beginning of working and with an experience of less than a year is around US $50,000 to US $70,000 annually. In comparison with the various salary ranges for jobs, it can be considered as a quite decent salary to start working.
What are the most influential factors that affect lawyers’ salaries?The salary of a lawyer depends mainly on the following factors:
- Work experience. If a lawyer has many years of experience he/she will probably earn more than a new lawyer or. According to a salary survey conducted realized in May 2010, the median expected salary for lawyers with less than one year of work experience is around $46,000 to $70,000. That salary range increases for lawyers with more years of experience ($68,000 to $115,000 – five to 9 years) and of course it is more for lawyers who have been on the job for more than 20 years.
- Type of employer or client. Diverse kinds of legal employers generally have different pay scales. Private practice generally pays more than government. Government generally pays more than not-for-profits. However, many aspects influence salaries of attorneys in private practice such as the size of a firm.
- Field of specialization (Criminal or Corporate). Another factor is what type of law lawyers practice. Some areas of the law basically deal with clients that have more money. Corporate and financial associated cases often deal with deep pockets consequently pay well. The starting salary for a corporate lawyer is around USD $125000 a year.
- Level of education. A senior person bills at a higher rate and will be salaried more than a junior person.
- Location of working. The city or geographical area where lawyers work also has a bearing on lawyer salaries. For instance, the average salary for a lawyer in states such as Washington, San Francisco and New York is higher than other states.
- Size of the firm. There are small, medium and large law firms. Large firms usually pay more. To get into a large or big firm, lawyers can do it right out of (or through) law school but it usually requires coming out of a school with a good reputation and/or have truly good grades. A lawyer school with a fewer reputation has less of their students working into big firms but those graduating at the top of their class and participating in journals, law evaluation or debatable court competitions can make it into a big firm. Lawyers that go into practice in a large firm usually start out in litigation, spending years preparing cases to be brought to court and writing briefs before they actually see the inside of a courtroom.
Considering the work experience
| Work experience (years) | Average annual salary ($) |
| 0 - 1 | 46,000 to 70,000 |
| 1 - 4 | 50,860 to 81,200 |
| 5 - 9 | 68,900 to 115,450 |
| 10 - 19 | 79,980 to 145,420 |
| 20 - more | 88,360 to 156,000 |
| Specialty | Average annual salary ($) |
| Criminal | 47,780 to 79,070 |
| Family Law | 48,390 to 79,680 |
| Legal Research | 53,340 to 99,900 |
| Real Estate | 53,260 to 117,990 |
| Litigation & Appeals | 60,870 to 110,320 |
| Corporate | 87,450 to 181,520 |
| Employer Type | Average annual salary ($) |
| Team | 37,000 to 110,670 |
| Private Practice | 56,900 to 104,880 |
| Self Employed | 57,710 to 124,620 |
| Government/Federal | 69,100 to 115,190 |
| Number of lawyers | Average annual salary ($) |
| 1 - 9 | 49, 484 to 85,898 |
| 10 - 49 | 58,082 to 97,673 |
| 50 - 199 | 67, 478 to 117,917 |
| 200 - 599 | 77,883 to 144,574 |
| 600 - 4999 | 87,530 to 162,147 |
| State | Average annual salary ($) |
| Florida | 52,564 to 95,845 |
| New Jersey | 58, 891 to 113,725 |
| Texas | 59,660 to 117,459 |
| New York | 59,677 to 119,282 |
| California | 69,432 to 122,890 |
| Bar Association | Average annual salary ($) |
| Florida Bar Association | 52,910 to 97,030 |
| Illinois Bar Association | 52,360 to 101,020 |
| American Bar Association | 58,090 to 115,300 |
| Texas Bar Association | 59,660 to 115,880 |
| New Jersey Bar Association | 60,660 to 107,240 |
| New York Bar Association | 60,690 to 119,360 |
| California Bar Association | 70,020 to 123,220 |
United States is the country with more lawyers than any other in the world. Many law students are graduated per year from more than 200 law schools across the country. The lawyer profession is amongst some of the highest paying careers and it comes along with great respect in United States. According the report on Salaries by Job, construction project managers and lawyers have the highest average salaries. Becoming a lawyer implies carry out formal requirements that may vary by state. They include 4 years college degree, 3 years of law school and passing a bar examination. Of course, the competition for admission to majorly law schools is intense.