How Much Does an Average Lawyer Make? On average, lawyers in the United States make about $87,012 per year, according to data from PayScale.com. The base salary starts at $52k per year and can reach as much as $157k per year. The salary is influenced by various factors, including experience level, specialty area, and geographic location. Annual lawyers’ salaries may fluctuate from one year to another, as they sometimes grow or go down.
Lawyers perform an important role in the judicial system. They interpret complex laws and regulations to advise and advocate for their clients during a legal dispute. As a professional, it’s among the highest-paying careers outside of medicine. Lawyers who work in the public sector, whether for the government or a nonprofit, generally earn a lower wage than someone practicing in the private sector.
How Much Does an Average Lawyer Make?
Private-sector attorneys might also see variability in their earnings, depending on whether they work on their own or for a large law firm. For example, an entry-level public defender has a median annual salary of $59,700, according to the National Association of Law Placement (NALP) survey. The same job with 10 to 16 years of experience can earn $100,500.
Compare that to a first-year associate practicing in the private sector, who makes an average salary of $150,690 a year. Salaries vary further in the private sector depending on the law firm’s size. First-year associates working at a firm with more than 700 lawyers can earn an average of $190,000, according to the NALP survey.
Factors Impacting Lawyers’ Salaries
Here are some of the key factors that impact salaries for recent graduates:
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Location
Location is a major driver when it comes to the income potential of lawyers. The state (and sometimes even the city) influences the average salaries of lawyers at all stages of their careers. Knowing the typical rates for your geographical location can help you better understand your potential lawyer’s salary.
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Law School
For many students, factors like tuition cost, location, and law school rankings are top of mind when assessing potential law schools, but your school of choice may also be a factor in the equation when considering yearly potential earnings. Graduating from certain law schools may open up higher-paying positions when you become a lawyer.
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Law Firm
The law firm that you join is a key factor when it comes to your annual salary. Typically, larger law firms offer higher salaries than smaller law firms. However, working for a larger law firm does not always guarantee higher pay, and other factors can influence overall compensation over the long term. While it’s true that the biggest entry-level salaries tend to come from “Big Law” firms, new lawyers at small law firms may start with lower pay, but their salary can then scale rapidly as their career advances over time.
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Practice Area
Another factor that often impacts earning potential is your chosen practice area of law. The average hourly rates for lawyers vary by practicing area, with more specialized roles typically drawing in higher rates, which likely means higher salaries.
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Skills
Learning useful soft skills and having tech proficiency goes a long way with some firms, and you can work on these skills even before graduation. No matter where you go to law school, you can always look for ways to help yourself stand out from your classmates when the time comes to get your first lawyer’s job. When looking for ways to set yourself apart, don’t underestimate the power of skills that go beyond the scope of traditional legal knowledge.
5 Countries With The Highest Salary for Lawyers
Law, as stated earlier, is a challenging field of study that takes many years of study at the university before one can be called to the bar and start practicing the profession. This is when to decide where and when to start your profession and, above all, achieve monetary value and a fulfilling career. Below are outlined, from bottom to top, some of the top countries in the world with the highest salaries for lawyers.
Norway – 131,041 USD:
The average annual salary for a Norwegian lawyer is $131,041. The lowest salary is $60,255 per year, and the highest salary is $208,261 per year. Lawyers with less than two years of experience earn about $68,320 per year; lawyers with two to five years’ experience will earn about $91,200 per year; lawyers with six to ten years of experience earn about $134,550 per year; and lawyers with eleven to fifteen years of experience earn about $164,900 per year.
Lawyers with sixteen to twenty years of experience will earn about $179,000 annually, and Norwegian lawyers with more than twenty years of experience will earn the highest, which is about $194,200 annually.
Netherlands: 134,370 USD
The Netherlands is number four on our list, with an average annual salary of $134,370. The lowest salary is $59,641 per year, and the highest salary for a lawyer is $214,520 annually. A lawyer with less than two years of experience will earn about $70,300 per year; a lawyer with five to ten years of experience will earn about $139,000 annually; a lawyer with fifteen to twenty years of experience will earn about $185,000 per year; and a lawyer with more than twenty years of experience will earn the highest, which is about $200,300 annually.
Australia: 142,033 USD
Australia is in the top three of our lists. The average annual salary of an Australian lawyer is $142,033. The lowest salary is $65,289 per year, and the highest salary is $226,031 per year. Like in other countries, experience plays a big role in a lawyer’s salary.
A lawyer with less than two years of experience earns about $74,150 per year; a lawyer with two to five years of experience earns about $99,200 per year; a lawyer with five to ten years of experience earns about $146,600 annually, lawyers with eleven to fifteen years of experience earn about $178,600 yearly, lawyers with sixteen to twenty years of experience earn about $194,700, and lawyers with more than twenty years of experience earn about $210,700 per year. The higher your experience, the higher your salary.
Canada – 193,796 USD:
Canada is number two on our list, with an average annual salary of $193,796. The lowest salary for a Canadian lawyer is $88,796 per year, and the highest salary is $308,167 per year. Like others, experience is a key determining factor.
Lawyers with less than two years of experience earn about $101,600 per year, lawyers with two to five years of experience earn about $135,000 per year; lawyers with six to ten years of experience earn about $200,100 per year; lawyers with eleven to fifteen years of experience earn about $243,800 per year; lawyers with sixteen to twenty years of experience earn about $266,000 annually; and a lawyer with more than twenty years of experience earns the most, which is about $281,500 per year. Like other countries in our study, the higher your experience, the higher your salary.
Switzerland -260,739 USD:
Switzerland is at the top of our list of countries that reward their lawyers the best. With an average annual salary of $260,739, The lowest salary for a Swiss lawyer is $120,279, and the highest salary is $414,058 per year. Like in the other countries above, experience is the most determining factor in the salary range.
A Swiss lawyer with less than two years of experience earns about $136,200 per year, lawyers with two to five years of experience earn about $182,110 per year; a lawyer with six to ten years of experience earns about $268,300 per year; lawyers with eleven to fifteen years of experience earn about $326,900 per year, lawyers with sixteen to twenty years of experience earn about $356,700 per year; and a Swiss lawyer with more than twenty years of experience earns the most, which is about $386,585 per year. There are other determining factors, such as the skill of the lawyer.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Do Judges Make?
Judges are the ones responsible for managing the courtroom’s legal process. They are the ones having to conduct hearings and trials, listen to defenses and arguments, research legal concerns, and oversee law clerk teams. They earn $78,58 per hour and $164,000 per year.
How Much Do Corporate Lawyers Make?
The primary duties of corporate lawyers include working for businesses and offering employers legal advice. A corporate lawyer’s salary is $133,438 on average.
How Much Do Contract Lawyers Make?
As you can already imagine, a contract lawyer deals with issues related to agreements, legally binding contracts, and other documents. The average salary for this profession is $88,179.
