Lawyer/Attorney Salaries from the U.S. Department of Labor

[alocsin]

Please check out my article about lawyer/attorney salaries, based on information from the U.S. Department of Labor:

Highest Paid Lawyers in America: Where Attorneys Make the Best Salaries

Thanks.

[Opie58]

Good article.  Interesting analysis.  Should be a great reference in setting your rate if you open your own office.

[alocsin]

Thanks Kirk, I'm glad you found it useful. It's your tax dollar at work!

I only wish they broke it down by type of practice. I'd live to analyze salaries based on that.

[MissMelissRoths03]

Do you know anything about the differences in salaries based on kind of practice?

[JBrien]

MissMelissRoths03,

I know where you are going with your question, and I cringe whenever I hear such things.  Not because there is anything wrong with the question (I am sure I asked a similar question when I was in law school), but please do not drink the cool aid.

The lawyer salary is not the proper justification to choose a career in law (or specific niche therein). 

The truth of the matter is that if you believe the hype and only follow the money, you will most likely not be emotionally satisfied with your career, and may find yourself trapped by the old “Golden Handcuffs”. 

The truth is that there are infinite ways to make money… and if money is your sole pursuit then believe me you will make significantly more money if you are in an industry where you LOVE the work.

So the proper pathway here is not which niche of law pays the highest, but where does your personality (strengths and weaknesses) fit best into which niche of law?  Once you have fully made a self-assessment you can then go on to pursue a specific field and the sky is the limit for making all the money you want. 

Remember  – FIRST FIND WHAT YOU LOVE TO DO AND THEN FIND A WAY TO MAKE MONEY AT IT.

For a more thorough discussion please read the below pages… hope this got you thinking!

http://www.become-a-lawyer.com/Lawyer-Salary.html
http://www.become-a-lawyer.com/lawyer-income.html
http://www.become-a-lawyer.com/lawyers_salary.html