$alary Range query

[corleone]

  Does anyone have an idea of a starting salary range for a young attorney coming out of a tier 3 school in the top 10% of the class?

    curious
       C.

[thechoson]

Depends HEAVILY on the school and its location

[jgruber]

http://www.ilrg.com/schools/salary/

gives median salaries by school.  I don't know how accurate it is, but it's a place to start

[cal4ever]

You must also keep in mind that many graduates of the law schools on the list take jobs in the public sector--thus bringing the average starting salary of many schools down.  Looking at a list of schools with a range of starting salary might be more helpful. 

[Phillip79]

There's also a big difference between public and private sector. 

The median starting salary for government is around $45,000.  It's roughly the same whether you graduate from Yale or Albany Law School.

There's a huge salary gap between the schools when it comes to private sector employment though.  The median for Albany Law is $48,000, and their 75th percentile is $60,000.  Many 1st Tier schools are around $125,000 at the median. 

[jrmadtown]

Well, I for one won't be taking a $45,000 job coming out of law school when I already make more than that as a CPA.  Go six figures!!

[jgruber]

The difference may have as much to do with the type of law practiced as the school from which they graduate.

But I really dunno.   

There's a huge salary gap between the schools when it comes to private sector employment though.  The median for Albany Law is $48,000, and their 75th percentile is $60,000.  Many 1st Tier schools are around $125,000 at the median. 

  I have seen those numbers posted on the internet, but how does one rationalize a $77,000 range in salary from a tier 1 to a tier 3 school.... did my law school selection predetermine such a drastic cut in future salary? 

            C.

[Revenant]

The difference in salary is quite simple.  Only the largest firms (100+ attorneys) can afford to pay $125k a year.  This is also only for the largest firms in the cities with the highest cost of living.  The same firm at a cheaper city may only pay 100k-115k.  As you go down the list of firms, you'll notice that the smaller the firm is, the lower the pay.  Mid-sized firms pay around 80k (again, this is based on NYC figures, so it would be less for some other cities).  Small firms pay even less, probably between 50-60k.  Since the demand of high paying jobs is probably greater than the supply, the big firms end up choosing who they feel are the best.  The lower the school's reputation in each respective region, the lower the chances of getting a job with a big firm, and thus, the salary range is lower because most of the jobs are acquired with mid-sized firms or even small-sized firms.  Another thing to note in salary ranges is some schools send a ton of people to public interest jobs (that pay 40-45k) and some schools send very few (i.e. Fordham... I think 80% go to private firms).  This would obviously affect 1) the mean salary and to a lesser extent, 2) the median salary.  One way of looking at the salary ranges is to assume that the top 25% of the class will get a salary of whatever the 75th percentile salary is and higher.  Although this is not completely accurate (as alot of top students go for clerking and public interest jobs), it gives you an estimate of what the market is for students from each school.

There's a huge salary gap between the schools when it comes to private sector employment though.  The median for Albany Law is $48,000, and their 75th percentile is $60,000.  Many 1st Tier schools are around $125,000 at the median. 

  I have seen those numbers posted on the internet, but how does one rationalize a $77,000 range in salary from a tier 1 to a tier 3 school.... did my law school selection predetermine such a drastic cut in future salary? 

            C.

[cal4ever]

did my law school selection predetermine such a drastic cut in future salary? 
            C.

Not necessarily.  I think every law school in the country will crank out lawyers that will make above $100k for their starting salary.  I think the prestige of the school comes in when firms start recruiting.  Most firms will start recruiting at the big name law schools first.  However, it doesn't mean they'll start hiring there first either.  Students from lower tier schools might (I say MIGHT) find it harder to put their foot in the door, but once in, I'm sure they will be making just as much as other lawyers who went to top 20 schools.  Personally, I haven't heard of firms giving certain lawyers less just because they went to tier 2, tier 3 or tier 4 schools. 

[cal4ever]

Corleone,

That's a good attitude to have.  If you keep this positive attitude and if you keep working hard, you'll already farther ahead than most law students.  A law school's name can only carry a lawyer/law student so far.  It's the person that really counts. 

Think of it this way, if you were ever convicted of a murder (just an example :-P) would you rather have an unknown Harvard grad defend you or Johnny Cochran (spelling?)--a Loyola Grad?  I know this is a bad example.  Sorry. 

Goodluck to you!