National Jurist - November 2007 - (Page 12)

THEFIRMREPORT Law firm starting salaries hit $160,000 mark As the demand for new associates continues to grow, so do starting salaries for attorneys. In the past three years, researchers at the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) have seen starting salaries rise from $125,000 to $160,000. by Michelle Weyenberg Firms lend a hand to help war vets Law firms and corporate legal departments across the country are setting out to help make sure thousands of disabled soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan receive fair and timely benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. According to The National Law Journal, pro bono legal clinics and training sessions for lawyers are currently underway in recognition of the legal needs of veterans and a desire to create models for more programs. The Pro Bono Institute is enlisting support from 38 corporate legal departments and law firms to assist discharged military personnel and those on the cusp of being discharged in filing claims, according to The National Law Journal. The program would train lawyers in the area of veterans law. “The impetus for this program came from the law firms and in-house corporate legal departments themselves,” said Esther Lardent, president of the Pro Bono Institute. “In response to the disturbing findings regarding treatment of veterans and the experience of friends and colleagues in the military, they called us to find out how they could best volunteer their services to help service members and veterans get the help they needed and deserved.” Lardent said the response from firms has been strong so far, given that the project is just getting started. “It is a tribute to the vigor of the pro bono commitment of large firms and legal departments that they first recognized this need and opportunity,” she said. Law schools are also joining forces to assist veterans. The John Marshall School of Law recently opened a clinic specifically dedicated to veterans’ issues. (See the full story in the news section). —Michelle Weyenberg Median base salaries by associate year and firm size Associate Year Firm Size 251-500 First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth $115,000 $125,000 $127,000 $131,000 $139,500 $145,000 $151,675 $162,000 Information provided by NALP “It’s a market phenomenon that’s related to supply and demand,” said James Leipold, NALP executive director. In the organization’s Associate Salary Survey for 2007, the median first-year associate salary at firms of 501-plus lawyers increased to $145,000 as of April 1, 2007 — a jump of $10,000 in just one year. The increase is similar to those in 2005 and 2006 and contrasts with a period of relative stability from 2000 to 2005, according to the study. But even as the median reached $145,000, many firms were already reporting salaries as high as $160,000. The median starting salary for firms of all sizes was $113,000 — up modestly from the 2006 median of $105,000, an increase driven mostly by growth at the high end of the scale. Leipold said the findings were not surprising since research from past studies showed a gradual increase. But what was noteworthy was the fact that some firms finally hit the $160,000-mark, he said. A total of 679 offices provided salary information. The prevailing salary in the largest firms rose to $145,000 in a number of cities, including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay and Silicon Valley areas and Washington, D.C. In New York, the prevailing salary hit $160,000. The survey also gathered data on salaries for intellectual property lawyers as well as general data on salary levels for staff attorneys and law clerks. Though the data varies, intellectual property lawyers command a salary that is $15,000 to $25,000 higher in large firms in major markets. Law firms discover YouTube As an outlet to reach potential summer associates, law firms are recognizing the popularity of YouTube and parlaying it into a hiring tool by creating recruiting videos and Web sites with the same look and feel. Firms seek to use the promotional videos in an effort to persuade law students that their lawyers and firms are youngthinking and hip, according to the New York Times. With more than 19,000 graduates joining law firms each year, there’s a vital need to attract summer associates. So far, the efforts have run from simple conversations with associates to videos promoting a firm’s expertise or diversity. But many critics agree that the videos are still in their early stages of development. Besides using YouTube to attract prospective employees, firms are redesigning web pages and incorporating a multimedia approach in innovative ways to reach the current generation of students. Videos on large-firm sites are often utilized for branding or recruiting purposes and are sometimes used in conjunction with diversity or pro bono efforts, said Micah Buchdahl of HTM Lawyers to The Legal Intelligencer. 12 THE NATIONAL JURIST November 2007

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of National Jurist - November 2007

National Jurist - November 2007 Contents Disturbing the Peace For the Record Blogs: The Death-knell for Law Reviews? Chemerinsky Heads UC-Irvine Ave Maria Dispute Raises ABA Inquiry John Marshall Establishes Veterans Clinic The Firm Report The Paper Chase Chronicles Law School Rankings at Math's Mercy Academic Freedom Called into Question St. Thomas Students Choose ‘Quality of Life’ Experience The Hidden Debt Crisis The Global Frontier International Education has to be a Part of Any Legal Education Employment Defender Career Hotline Off the Bench

National Jurist - November 2007

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.