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Starting salaries to rise 3% for legal jobs

October 24, 2014

Starting salaries for legal professionals in the US are projected to increase by an average of 3 percent next year, according to the Robert Half Legal 2015 Salary Guide.

Lawyers at small to midsize law firms should see greater-than-average salary gains. Among legal specialists, the largest gains in annual base compensation are expected for compliance directors and contract managers.

“As law firms expand service offerings to capitalize on emerging business opportunities and corporate legal departments handle more matters in-house to contain outside counsel costs, hiring in the legal field is accelerating,” said Charles Volkert, executive director of Robert Half Legal. “As a result, competition among law firms and companies is increasing for legal professionals who specialize in high-growth specialties such as litigation, healthcare and commercial law.”

In many markets, candidates with in-demand skills are receiving multiple employment offers and counteroffers, according to Volkert.

Average starting salaries for lawyers at law firms are expected to increase 3.4 percent in 2015. Lawyers with 10-plus years of experience at a small to midsize law firm — 10 to 35 lawyers — will see the greatest gains, with starting salaries expected to rise 4.9 percent from 2014, to the average range of $134,000 to $184,500 annually. At the same size firm, lawyers with four to nine years of experience will see starting salaries rise 4.8 percent, to the range of $94,000 to $172,000 per year. First-year associates will earn between $62,500 and $88,250 at small to midsize firms, a 2.4 percent increase.

Corporate attorneys are expected to see average compensation gains of 3 percent over 2014 levels. Starting salaries for in-house counsel with 10-plus years of experience at midsize companies ($25 million to $250 million in revenue) will rise 3.7 percent, to the range of $143,500 to $225,000 annually.

Law-firm paralegal salaries are expected to rise 3.4 percent in 2015. Legal secretaries at law firms can expect average starting salaries to increase 2.3 percent in 2015.

Starting salaries for legal specialists are predicted to rise 4.1 percent, on average. Compliance directors with 10-plus years of experience should see starting salaries increase by 5.2 percent, to the annual range of $107,000 to $135,750, according to the report.

Other findings from the Robert Half Legal 2015 Salary Guide include:

  • Contract managers can expect average starting salaries to rise by 5.1 percent, to the range of $75,000 to $116,250 per year.
  • Compensation for lease administrators is projected to increase 5 percent, to the annual range of $55,000 to $77,500.
  • Litigation support managers with seven to nine years of experience will see average base compensation increase 4.9 percent, to the range of $81,250 to $108,000 annually.
  • Midlevel paralegals with four to six years of experience at a large company (more than $250 million in revenue) should see average salary ranges of $58,250 to $74,750 per year, a 3.3 percent increase.
  • Legal secretaries with three to six years of experience at a large company are expected to earn $50,500 to $65,250 annually, a 3.1 percent increase from 2014 levels.