HOW MUCH?

Thanks for the awesome info, guys. Some comments aside, you've helped me a lot to get a picture of what's happening out there...I'm trying to get into some mid-sized or big law firm actually, not a 3-4 attorneys' office, so I guess I have to keep looking a little longer until the right opportunity comes!

http://discuss.ilw.com/eve/forums?a=...462#8346096462

In the city where I live (a quite good metropolitan area) a legal assistant is usually paid no more than $17 an hour...rates differ though from company to company...

okay

As to that comment regarding lawyers not being able to get close to doctors......my alien friends, are you so dense not to understand that some lawyers are being paid up to $350,000 a year and a few of them even up to $800,000 a year?

Why do people in America value money that much as to rank themselves in terms of money earned?

Attorneys outside of law firms have a median base annual salary of $125,000, and a mean base annual salary of $134,319. Their median total annual cash compensation (salary plus cash bonuses and/or cash profit sharing) is $142,814, while the mean cash compensation is $159,048. However, 10% of these attorneys have a total annual cash compensation of $264,116 or more, with a few making over $600,000. Toward the other end of the spectrum, 10% of these attorneys have a total annual income of $71,206 or less.

Geographic Location

In aggregate, the highest median incomes reported for attorneys this year were in: Denver/Colorado Springs ($198,163); Cleveland ($186,622); San Jose ($175,000); New York City ($172,227); Houston ($165,100); San Francisco/Oakland ($164,750); Washington, DC/MD/VA ($161,087); Boston ($160,500); Hartford ($160,088); Sacramento ($158,828); and Minneapolis/St. Paul ($157,929); and outside the metropolitan areas studied in Wisconsin ($200,000); New Jersey ($161,050); Ohio ($158,860); and South Carolina ($151,000).

The lowest median incomes were found in El Paso ($66,745); Atlanta ($88,000); Portland, OR ($90,300); Memphis ($90,300); Topeka ($100,000); Tampa/St. Petersburg ($112,500); and Seattle/Everett ($120,000); and outside the metropolitan areas studied in Iowa ($82,700) and Georgia ($88,000).

The remaining metropolitan areas surveyed had median incomes ranging from $124,500 to $157,857.

Naturally, these figures change significantly when consideration is given simultaneously to such demographic variables as job level, supervisory responsibility, type and size of employer, length of experience, functional area, etc.

Type of Employer

Attorneys employed by manufacturing/extractive firms make significantly more (with a median total compensation of $171,901) than those employed by non-manufacturing organizations ($115,676).

The highest median incomes were found among those employed by manufacturers of pharmaceutical and related products ($199,000) and fabricated metal products ($187,097), merchandising firms ($176,063), and manufacturers of computers and allied products ($175,000), chemical and allied products ($165,000), and machinery and heavy equipment ($163,200).

The lowest median incomes were found in nonprofit organizations ($70,560), state & local government ($92,860), insurance companies ($93,040), educational institutions ($102,000), and banks & other financial institutions ($105,000).

The remaining types of employer surveyed reported median compensation ranging from $115,000 to $120,000.

Number of Attorneys

The median income of attorneys starts at a high level in organizations with two to four attorneys ($156,600), declines to a low point in organizations with 25 or more attorneys ($92,932 - an anomaly due to input from state and local governments, a traditionally low-paying type of employer), and rises to $147,507 in companies with 10 to 24 lawyers.

Number of Employees

The number of employees in an organization is a good predictor of median income for attorneys. For example, the median annual income for attorneys in a company with 25,000 employees or more is $167,348, 61% higher than the $103,783 paid to attorneys in an organization with 500 to 999 employees.

Fiscal Size of Organization

The median income of attorneys correlates well with annual sales volume of manufacturing organizations, but less well in non- manufacturing organizations.

Education

The effect of attaining an MA/MS/MBA, in addition to the LLB/JD, was also studied. The median income of attorneys holding a graduate degree in addition to the LLB/JD was higher ($157,200) than that of those with only the LLB/JD ($135,387).

Experience/Age/Year of JD/LLB

Naturally, income increases fairly regularly with increased length of experience. Attorneys with 30-plus years of experience have a median income of $253,601, 353% higher than the $56,018 of those with one or two years of experience.

Much the same pattern was found when income was compared to age of individual and year of LLB/JD, with the highest median income found among those who are 60 years of age or over ($200,892).

Field of Specialization

Of the areas of specialization studied, the highest-paid field of specialization for attorneys is administrative (with a median total annual cash income of $230,429), followed by intellectual property law - primarily copyright ($199,304), intellectual property law - primarily patent ($180,000), business - general ($165,000), mergers/acquisitions ($160,500), commercial law - general ($159,544), combination of litigation and non-litigation ($158,091), labor relations/collective bargaining ($155,314), environmental law ($153,729), and antitrust ($149,587).

The lowest median incomes are received by those in education law ($84,882), securities ($87,224), legislation ($88,000), regulatory law ($90,025), and insurance law ($90,300).

The remaining areas of specialization studied (banking, commercial - contracts, defense, employment, health care, international, non-litigation, real estate, and taxation) have median incomes in the $98,170 to $144,548 range.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibility

Supervision or management of other attorneys and/or support staff correlates strongly with total compensation. For example, attorneys who direct the activities of 10 or more attorneys have a median income of $304,862, 185% higher than those who have little or no supervisory responsibility ($107,060).

Job Function

Turning to compensation by specific job function, the median total cash compensation of the chief corporate legal officer is $200,126; the mean compensation is $237,355. However, 10% of this group make under $99,800 and 10% make over $400,233. Naturally, income varies within this job function (and all other job functions studied) on the basis of the numerous demographic variables discussed earlier.

The median incomes of other supervisory/managerial attorneys are:

Managing Attorney $203,000
Deputy Chief Corporate Legal Officer $195,000
Chief Divisional or Subsidiary Legal Officer $168,311
Supervising Attorney $164,546

On average, these jobs are in larger organizations than is the average Chief Corporate Legal Officer.

Non-supervisory attorneys have a median total cash compensation of $110,800. Within this group, 10% make under $61,800 annually, and 10% make over $181,601, varying by level of responsibility, field of specialization, geographic location, type of employer, etc. When analyzed by level of responsibility, the median incomes are as follows:

Attorney, High Level Specialist $160,344
Senior Attorney $121,000
Intermediate Attorney $100,284
Attorney $69,760

Specialty Administrators

Specialty Administrators have a median total income of $68,500, with a mean total income of $75,336; 10% of this group make under $44,520, and 10% make over $98,200.

Legal Administrators

Legal Administrators have a median total income of $57,070, with a mean total income of $60,081; 10% of this group make under $29,999, and 10% make over $91,452.

Senior Paralegal Assistants

Senior Paralegal Assistants have a median total income of $51,157, with a mean total income of $52,804; 10% of this group make under $40,459, and 10% make over $66,562.

Paralegal Assistants

Paralegal Assistants have a median total income of $40,960, with a mean total income of $43,435; 10% of this group make under $30,040, and 10% make over $57,191.

Legal Secretaries

The median total income of Legal Secretaries is $39,240. Ten percent of Legal Secretaries make under $32,048, and 10% make over $51,710. When divided by specific skill required, Legal Secretaries who use shorthand in their work have a median total income of $40,663, while those who transcribe from dictation equipment recordings have a median income of $38,918.



http://www.abbott-langer.com/lawsumm.html

Money is everything in America. If you have money you are the boss, even if you happen to be an ***.

So, "Ranking", are you suggesting that lawyers are asses?

I have knowladge too Can I get this knid of money too? No one pay a dime..LOL

Well...smart asxxx..hehe, pardon may language.

Exactly Mohan...you have to complete legal training to be able to get money, no one pays you money even though you may be knowleadgeable if you don't have proof to show that you know all that stuff.

Take MMorales (aka Sammy) for instance: he's an asshole, but he gets a little bit of money just because he has that piece of paper saying he has an J.D. degree, see what I mean?

LOL

I have my degree already by grace of god.
Not JD but good enough to earn my living.
IF i want I can get JD like 123 but i think this profession suck the blood of innocent, this money is not worth for me and my life.

Mohan, do you REALLY think lawyers blood-sucker leeches?