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Starting salaries to rise 3% for legal jobs next year, Robert Half says

September 22, 2015

Expect starting salaries for legal professionals in the US to increase 3.1% overall next year, according to the Robert Half Legal 2016 Salary Guide.

Law firm attorneys with four-plus years of professional experience should see greater-than-average salary gains. Among legal specialists, the largest gains in annual base compensation are expected for compliance directors.

“Hiring in the legal field is gaining momentum as law firms and companies respond to rising demand for legal services,” said Charles Volkert, executive director of Robert Half Legal. “Law firms are expanding practice groups to support growth in litigation, compliance and commercial law while legal departments are building teams to manage more legal matters in-house.”

Legal professionals with expertise in high-demand specialties are in short supply and are receiving multiple employment offers or counteroffers, according to Volkert.

“Employers who are reluctant to offer competitive compensation packages or expedite the hiring process risk losing highly sought-after legal professionals to other organizations,” he said.

Average starting salaries for lawyers at law firms are expected to increase 3.5% in 2016.

Overall salary increases of 3.0% are expected for law firm paralegals in 2016, while average starting salaries for legal secretaries at law firms are expected to increase 2.3%.

Starting salaries for legal specialists are predicted to rise 4.3% on average.

The Robert Half Legal 2016 Salary Guide includes projected starting salary ranges for more than 100 positions in the legal field. Information is derived from thousands of full-time and project placements handled nationwide by Robert Half Legal’s recruiting and staffing professionals.