2002 Young Lawyers Compensation Survey

Faith Alip-Long, M.Ed.

Catherine Choi-Pearson, Ph.D.

Shawn Pearson

 

 

It is Thursday evening and you have just arrived at one of the Young Lawyers Section’s Socials at a local establishment. You are on your way to the bar when you spot an acquaintance who you have not seen in months. You stop by to say hello and the conversation goes something like this:

 

You: Hi, Chris. I haven’t seen you in awhile. How have you been?

Chris: Great! I just started a new job in Carson City.

You: Really? So, how much are you getting paid?

Chris: I started at $50,000.00 and get a bonus at the end of the year.

You: How much of a bonus do you expect? Does your new job also come with dental benefits or a 401k?

 

Unlikely as the conversation may seem, it is one that runs through the minds of new lawyers and employers alike. How much should a second year attorney expect to get paid? Does the place where you live impact the salary you receive? Does the specialty area you pursue make a difference in the amount you get paid? Although the answers to these questions are very important, attorneys rarely have conversations like the one above. Afraid of being perceived as rude or gauche, many attorneys avoid asking each other about their current earnings or their future earning potential.  Instead, lawyers and their employers look to the Young Lawyers Section’s compensation survey for answers. 

 

Every two years, the Young Lawyers Section conducts a survey on salary compensation within the state of Nevada. The results allow attorneys to evaluate salary and working conditions in the job market and allow employers to make fair and informed offers to potential employees.

 

Participants

In the spring of 2002, surveys were mailed to 1,650 attorneys who were identified by the State Bar of Nevada as meeting eligibility requirements for the Young Lawyers Section. By definition, a Young Lawyer is someone who is 36 years or younger, or has been practicing law in the state of Nevada for less than five years. Of the 1650 surveys distributed, 295 surveys were returned for a response rate of 18.5%. The participant sample included 173 males (59%) and 120 females (41%). Approximately 88% (n = 255) of the sample was between 26 to 36 years of age (range 25 to 56 years). Only seven of the attorneys in this sample (2%) indicated that they worked part-time.

 

The majority of the respondents self-identified as Caucasian (n = 250, 85%), with remaining participants indicating they were of Hispanic/Latino (n = 15, 5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (n = 10, 3%), Native American (n = 3, 1%), Multiracial (n = 3, 1%), or African American (n = 2, 1%) descent. Eleven individuals (4%) did not respond to this question. All but one individual indicated that they were United States citizens (n = 294, 99%).  With respect to marital status, 180 of the respondents were married (61%), 78 were single (26%), 16 were divorced (5%), 15 in a committed relationship (5%), two were separated (1%), and one was widowed (less than 1%). Three individuals did not reveal their relationship status.

 

Young Lawyers were surveyed from throughout the state of Nevada. Of the submitted responses, over half of the attorneys practiced in Las Vegas (n =202, 68%). Attorneys working in Reno (n = 44, 15%), Carson City (n = 11, 4%), rural Nevada (n = 11, 4%), out of state (not including California, n = 13, 4%) and California (n = 11, 4%) comprised the remainder of the sample. The law schools attended varied greatly with the highest percentage of attorneys graduating from the University of San Diego (n = 24, 8%), Brigham Young University (n = 18, 6%), McGeorge (n = 15, 5%), University of Nevada, Las Vegas (n = 14, 5%), and the University of Utah (n = 10, 3%).

 

The average number of years licensed in the state of Nevada was 3.01 years (range 0 to 13 years). The mean number of years in practice was 4.27 years (range 0 to 30 years). The most common areas of practice cited were litigation (23%), personal injury (10%), corporate (8%), commercial (7%), criminal (7%), and insurance law (7%). In terms of practice settings, 227 participants (78%) worked in private law firms (ranging from 2 to 30+ attorneys). Thirty-seven attorneys (13%) worked for the government/state, sixteen (5%) were sole practitioners, and eleven (4%) worked in corporations. One person indicated he/she worked in an “other” setting (less than 1%) and three (1%) individuals did not respond to the question. 

 

Base Salary for 2001-2002

For 2001, the average salary for all the respondents was $72,521 (range $25,000 to $350,000). In general, males earned an average salary of $75,097 compared to the average salary of $69,320 earned by females. Examining the variable of location reveals salary discrepancies between in-state and out-of-state attorneys as well as differences in Nevada regions. For example, attorneys who practice in California are compensated an average of $108,863 per year. Average salaries in-state were $70,766, $70,240, $68,842, and $57,981 for Reno, Las Vegas, rural Nevada (rural Nevada, Elko, and Lake Tahoe), and Carson City, respectively. Participants estimated an average 2002 salary of $77,352 (range $28,500 to $380,000). 

 

Several other demographic variables were examined for their relationship to salary compensation. For marital status, single attorneys averaged $74,766 and married attorneys averaged $73,934 per year. Ethnic background revealed that individuals of Native American descent averaged the highest yearly salary at $77,533 compared to Caucasians ($73,914), Asian/Pacific Islanders ($72,900), African Americans ($70,000), Hispanic/Latinos ($68,600), and Multiracial individuals ($64,333). It is important to note, however, that data on average salary base by ethnicity needs to be interpreted with caution due to the low number of individuals self-identifying from ethnic backgrounds other than Caucasian. When examining practice background, individuals who work in law firms of 30+ attorneys average $92,102 per year. This is compared to average yearly salaries of attorneys in law firms of 20-29 attorneys ($72,279), 10-19 attorneys ($76,256), 2-9 attorneys ($69,356), government/state settings ($59,548), corporations ($112,636), non-profit public interest ($48,000) and sole practice ($40,312).

 

Survey results also indicate that salary increases with each year of additional practice. For instance, a first year attorney averages $58,881 per year, a third year attorney averages $70,226 per year, and a fifth year attorney averages $77,951 per year. Compensation data for years of experience, gender, and location are also available (please refer to Table 1).

 

Billable Hours

A billable hours requirement impacted 145 of the participants in this sample (49%). The average number of hours required was 1,881 hours per year (range 1000 to 2400 hours per year). In reality, the average number of hours actually billed by participants was 1916 (range 597 to 2936 hours).

 

Bonuses

Respondents were also asked if they received a salary bonus. Over half of the sample (n = 203, 69%) answered the question affirmatively. Of these respondents, 128 receive bonuses once a year (63%), 20 receive it twice a year (10%), and 19 receive bonuses three or more times a year (9%). Twenty-one participants (10%) reported that their bonus schedule was determined by their employers and eleven participants (5%) indicated that they received bonuses based on hours that they billed. Four individuals (2%) said that their bonus schedule was determined by “other” means. Fifty-five participants reported the amount of bonus received and the average during the 2001 year was $28,052 (range $200 to $350,000). This average may be spuriously high due to nine participants’ bonuses being greater than $50,000 (the average of those nine bonuses alone is $114,277, range $50,000 to $350,000). 

 

Benefits

Results revealed that employers offered a range of benefits to their employees. Health insurance was available to 93% of the sample (n = 273). Employees were also offered dental insurance (n = 189, 64%), life insurance (n = 185, 63%), vision insurance (n =127, 43%), dependent health insurance (n = 125, 42%), and disability insurance (n = 122, 41%). The majority of employers also covered professional membership dues (n = 250, 85%) and payment of continuing legal education fees (n = 255, 86%). Three-fourths of the sample (n = 223, 76%) indicated that professional liability insurance was an additional benefit that they received.

 

Involvement in Pro Bono and State Bar Activities

How do employers feel about pro bono representation and participation in state bar activities? Encouragingly, almost half of the sample indicated that their employers “strongly encourages” (n = 39, 13%) or “somewhat encourages” (n = 104, 35%) pro bono representation. Sixty-four individuals (22%) reported that pro bono representation was “tolerated” while 49 participants did not know their employer’s perspective on free legal services (n = 49, 17%). There were 22 attorneys (7%) who indicated that their employers did not support pro bono representation and 17 did not answer the question (6%). State bar activities were “somewhat” (n = 121, 41%) to “strongly” encouraged (n = 70, 24%). Respondents indicated that 46% of employers paid for state bar activities (n = 135), but only 28% (n = 82) supported travel costs for state bar functions. When examining participation in the Young Lawyer Section, the majority of attorneys “never” (n = 164, 56%) or “infrequently” participated (n = 87, 29%) in these activities. Fourteen individuals participated with Young Lawyers once a year (5%), 23 participated two to four times a year (8%), and six participated more than four times per year (2%). Interestingly, although based only on six individuals, the average salary for attorneys participating in Young Lawyers activities more than four times a year was $80,700. This is compared to attorneys who never ($70,894) or infrequently participated ($78,111) in these activities.

 

What Do Young Lawyers Like About Their Employment?

 

In addition to the quantitative data recited above, this year’s survey contained open ended questions which asked respondents to identify what they liked most and least about their current positions.  In the “like most” column, words like “flexibility,” “experience,” “challenging work,” “collegial environment” and “quality of life” appear frequently.  In the “like least” column, in addition to the chronic challenges of “billable hours,” “pay” and “stress,” office management issues, like “corporate bureaucracy,” and “lack of management communication and coherent HR policies” were frequently identified.  

 

Conclusions

There’s no substitute for data, as this year’s compensation survey shows.  Young lawyers’ salaries have grown significantly since the survey was last conducted in 1999.  Then the average salary was $63,817, and today it is $72,521.  Disappointingly, the response rate for this year’s survey is down from the 1999 survey, and this may limit the validity of the data. Obviously, a higher response rate would paint a more accurate picture of legal salaries in Nevada, especially outside of Reno and Las Vegas. Despite these limitations, the survey presents a good starting point for lawyers and employers alike. Perhaps most importantly, it also saves us from having to ask that dreaded but necessary question, “How much do you make?” at the next Young Lawyers function.