Lawyer Pay

Lawyers Rank 17th on Forbes List of Top-Paying Jobs

The average pay for lawyers is $118,280, putting the job 17th on a Forbes list of top-earning jobs. Medical specialists dominate the top nine spots on the list. Anesthesiologists, with an average salary of $192,780, were first on the list. Surgeons were second, with an average salary of $191,410. Chief…

May 19, 2008 10:49 AM CDT

‘Lawyer’ Ranks 6th of Best Jobs for Introverts

If you are an introvert, the legal profession may be a good choice for you. A list of the best jobs for introverts ranks “lawyer” the sixth-best job. The list is compiled from the book “200 Best Jobs for Introverts” published by JIST Works. It is based on earnings, projected…

May 19, 2008 10:21 AM CDT

Lawyers Answer N.Y. Pension Probe With Class Action

As promised, a veteran municipal lawyer has filed suit in New York seeking to derail investigations into lawyers who receive sate pension benefits as a result of their work for schools and other government entities. Albany lawyer James Roemer, who filed the suit as a class action, lists a host…

May 16, 2008 11:39 AM CDT

White & Case Latest to Give Jr. UK Lawyers a Salary Boost

While some firms are freezing raises or scaling back, associates at White & Case in the U.K. are set to get a salary bump of 2.1 percent. Young lawyers will now get $152,000, up nearly $4,000 from the previous year’s pay, Legal Week reports. The New York-based firm’s U.K. salaries…

May 16, 2008 10:33 AM CDT

Recent Law Grad Got $3M Bonus, Plus Porsche, in Fen-Phen Case

A recent law grad working on a massive diet drug case got a $3 million bonus and a Porsche when the civil fen-phen litigation settled for $200 million in 2001. David Helmers testified today about his lavish bonus in the Covington, Ky., federal fraud trial of three senior lawyers accused…

May 15, 2008 6:12 PM CDT

Targeted in N.Y. Public Benefits Probe, Private Lawyers Plan Class Action

Updated: It almost had to happen. Targeted in an ongoing investigated by the New York attorney general’s office as well as other state and federal agencies over possible public benefits and tax fraud, at least some of the “hundreds and hundreds” of lawyers who reportedly are the focus of the…

May 14, 2008 6:34 PM CDT

N.Y. Judges to Lawmakers: No Pay Raises for Us, No Hearings for You

Updated: Perhaps it’s just an over-scrupulous sense of ethics on the part of New York’s judges. But ever since the chief judge sued the state legislature for a pay raise, a number of the state’s jurists have been recusing themselves from hearing cases involving state lawmakers and the law firms…

May 13, 2008 4:29 PM CDT

A&O Says No to Associate Pay Hike; Magic Circle Firm is First to Do So

In the wake of associate pay raises announced by other major London-based law firms, one magic circle partnership is holding the line. Allen & Overy will not raise associate pay this year, reports Legal Week. Newly qualified lawyers will continue to earn 65,000 pounds (that’s not quite $127,000 in U.S.…

May 9, 2008 6:21 PM CDT

Big Firms Hurt Profits With Non-Equity Partners, Consultant Finds

Big law firms with the most non-equity partners may be hurting their partner profits. That conclusion seems counterintuitive, Legal Blog Watch points out. Many would assume that having fewer equity partners means higher profits per partner “because there are fewer partners taking a piece of the profit pie.” But law…

May 9, 2008 12:03 PM CDT

‘Perk of Partnership’ at N.Y. Law Firm: Public Pension for No-Show Job

For some lawyers at one Albany, N.Y., area law firm, getting a public pension for a no-show school district job was a standard “perk of partnership,” a state prosecutor said at a news conference today. “Ellen Biben, special deputy attorney general for public integrity, said a number of lawyers of…

May 8, 2008 11:43 PM CDT

Lenders Freeze Home Equity Lines, Avoiding Possible Chapter 13 Cuts

Instead of providing the expected financial cushion in tough economic times, home equity lines are disappearing just when some owners—including attorneys—were relying on being able to use them. Jerry Tao, a part-time lawyer in Las Vegas, is in better shape than most—he made more than $500,000 last year, and never…

May 6, 2008 4:14 PM CDT

A Few Small Law Firms Handle Most Minnesota Foreclosures

Call them foreclosure factories, if you will. But two Minnesota law firms handle nearly half of the mortgage foreclosure work in the state—earning, one partner says, as little as $50 per case. Wilford & Geske, a small law firm in Woodbury, handles about 5,300 mortgage cases annually, amounting to a…

May 5, 2008 5:08 PM CDT

Heller Rewards Rainmakers, But Some Storm Away

Changes at Heller Ehrman that were designed to improve profitability have upset some longtime partners, spurring some of them to leave. Twenty-five partners left the firm last year, and so far this year, 16 have departed, the American Lawyer reports. Some of the recent lawyer departures may have been because…

May 5, 2008 4:14 PM CDT

Counsel on Call Brings More Contract Attorney Options to Boston

For a number of lawyers who want a better balance between their work lives and their personal lives or a more flexible schedule, being a contract attorney can be the answer. While the job admittedly can be a fast track to document review projects, it can also offer a chance…

May 5, 2008 3:19 PM CDT

Sullivan & Cromwell Ranked Best Law Firm for Adoption Policies

Sullivan & Cromwell has taken top honors for adoption-friendly policies among law firms and other business-service firms in a ranking by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Sullivan & Cromwell offers up to 18 weeks of paid leave to adoptive parents and $7,500 to defray expenses, the AmLaw Daily reports.…

May 5, 2008 1:26 PM CDT