How Much Lawyers Are Paid

(Click to enlarge)

The Law is still a great profession worth joining, according to the Robert Half Legal staffing service, especially when it comes to the money.

Based in Menlo Park, CA, the recruiting firm has published a 2006 Salary Guide for the U.S. that's free by calling 800.870.8367.  Several hiring and management trends are listed:

• "In their roles as advisors, lawyers are becoming more adept at helping their clients address business and legal matters.  In many instances this has led to the creation of additional practice areas and specialties for firms."
• " Traditional attorney roles are evolving.  Not only are lawyers serving as legal counselors, they are also addressing a clients or company's larger business goals and objectives.  Law firms are requiring attorneys to become familiar with the activities and capabilities of all practice groups -- not just their own -- to better serve clients and generate cross-selling opportunities."

As a business development consultant, I think this is great news.  I strongly urge the lawyers whom I advise that they should visit their clients, ask them questions about the company's business and find out what are their "business traumas."  This way a client will actually tell a lawyer what their legal needs are, and an astute lawyer can offer to help out.

Other trends:

• Interpersonal skills.  "The emphasis on identifying and responding to client priorities means attorneys must draw on their traditionally strong communication abilities. They also must be good listeners as well as articulate and persuasive. Law offices are looking for attorneys with strong interpersonal and collaborative skills, who can work effectively on case and project teams that include fulltime staff, outside specialists and contract legal professionals."
• Language Skills. "Fluency in English and Spanish is becoming increasingly important ... in all practice areas, especially in California, Texas and Florida. In addition, legal professionals who are proficient in French, German, Japanese or Chinese are highly valued by firms that do a heavy volume of business internationally. "
• E-filing. "Courts in most jurisdictions are moving increasingly toward a near-paperless environment, making knowledge of electronic filing a fairly standard requirement. Firms and legal departments seek paralegals who can fully utilize software and hardware designed for e-filing."
• Project Attorneys.  "An increasing number of firms are discovering that augmenting core legal staff with highly-skilled project professionals offers them a cost-effective way to bring together the specialized experience they need for both short- and long-term initiatives. " 70% of lawyers said their firm would use project lawyers to work on large projects that require more resources than currently exist.

Comments

[California Divorce]

Interesting post, Larry. It reminds me of a recent Money Magazine article I saw showing the top 50 occupations, measured by income, ease (or difficulty) of entry, creativity, and stress level. While lawyers ranked low on several categories, we were #2 in income (only M.D.'s made more).