Lawyer Pay

New Routes Into the Corporate Door

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Aug 1, 2007 1:33 PM CDT

Winstead Associates Must Earn High Pay

A Dallas-based law firm has decided it will remain a holdout in the associate salary wars. Winstead says it will not meet starting pay levels of $160,000 a year for new associates, Texas Lawyer reports. Instead the firm will continue to pay $135,000, but will award bonuses of up to…

Aug 1, 2007 11:10 AM CDT

The Billable Hour Must Die

It rewards inefficiency. It makes clients suspicious. And it may be unethical.

Aug 1, 2007 8:54 AM CDT

Attorney Pay Slays Inflation

The last decade has been a very good one for the average U.S. lawyer’s wallet. Median attorney pay has outpaced inflation by 17 percent, compared to just a 5 percent rise in the prior decade, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Aug 1, 2007 7:39 AM CDT

$3,100 a Week for Summer Associates

Big Washington, D.C., law firms are paying summer associates as much as $3,100 a week while offering plentiful perks. The Washington Post writes about a dinner with a “Masters of the Universe ambience” atop the Kennedy Center, attended by summer associates at Steptoe & Johnson. Competition for top law grads…

Jul 24, 2007 4:45 PM CDT

Texas Trend: $160 K Starting Pay

It didn’t take long for a third Texas law firm to raise pay for beginning associates to $160,000. Locke Liddell & Sapp announced the pay hike will take effect on Aug. 1, Texas Lawyer reports. Managing partner Jerry Clements said the move is intended to help the firm “remain a…

Jul 23, 2007 2:53 PM CDT

Second Texas Firm Hikes Associate Pay

A second Texas law firm has raised salaries for new associates to $160,000. Houston-based Andrews Kurth announced the pay increase yesterday, a day after Vinson & Elkins hiked associate pay, Texas Lawyer reports. Vinson & Elkins adopted a unique pay structure. Associates get raises every year, but the amount of…

Jul 20, 2007 12:32 PM CDT

V&E Matches N.Y. Associate Pay

Vinson & Elkins is the first Texas law firm to announce it will increase pay for new associates to $160,000 a year, matching big firms on the coasts. Associates get raises every year after that, but the amount of the pay hike will be lower after the third year if…

Jul 19, 2007 12:32 PM CDT

Top GCs Earning $1.5 M on Average

Fueled by big bonuses, the average cash compensation for the 100 best-paid general counsel increased to $1.5 million last year. Average salaries were about $560,000 while average bonuses were $1 million, according to Corporate Counsel magazine. Stock awards provided another big boost to compensation, with an average grant of $1.1…

Jul 18, 2007 1:03 PM CDT

Big Salaries Not in Big Picture

Don’t be fooled by tales of $160,000 starting pay for associates. Most new lawyers make about a fourth of that. James Leipold, executive director of NALP, told the National Law Journal that most law grads who find jobs in private practice make between $40,000 and $45,000 the first year. Lawyers…

Jul 13, 2007 3:22 PM CDT

Lawyers’ ‘Blue Flu’ Slows Chicago Courts

Criminal courts in the Chicago area are expected to operate in slow motion today, as up to two-thirds of the 520 prosecutors in Cook County’s felony courtrooms take the day off. The prosecutorial “blue flu” is intended to send a message to county administrators about a claimed 12 percent discrepancy…

Jul 10, 2007 6:00 PM CDT

UK Big-Firm Partner Argues Age Claim

A hearing has begun in an age discrimination case brought against one of London’s most prominent law firms by a now-former partner, in a cutting-edge case could potentially threaten the British legal profession’s traditional “lockstep” compensation system. It could also be a sign of more litigation to come, as law…

Jul 9, 2007 7:16 PM CDT

Linklaters’ Revenues Top $2 Billion

Linklaters’ revenues have increased by almost 20 percent, bringing the London law firm’s annual earnings to about $2.2 billion. Profits per partner increased at a similarly impressive rate of 21.8 percent, bringing the number to $2.56 million, the American Lawyer reports. Managing partner Tony Angel attributed much of the firm’s…

Jul 9, 2007 12:24 PM CDT

CA Attys Sue Over $100 K Average Pay

Contending that lawyers employed by the state of California make significantly less than those working in federal and local government jobs, a union representing 3,500 attorneys and hearing officers has sued Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The June 29 action seeks the appointment of a special master by a Sacramento County Superior…

Jul 6, 2007 10:49 PM CDT

$160,000 to Start in NYC—and Seattle

An intellectual property boutique has raised its starting pay in Seattle to $160,000, matching the salary its first-years earn in New York City. The move by Darby & Darby is the latest in a series of such salary increases by West Coast law offices, according to the National Law Journal…

Jul 6, 2007 10:13 PM CDT