Summary Salary Findings from 2020 Survey of Legal Career Professionals
Salary Findings from NALP's 2016 Survey of Legal Career Professionals, November 2016
Summary Salary Findings from NALP's 2018 Survey of Legal Career Professionals, NALP Bulletin, November 2018
The 10-year span of NALP's Public Sector & Public Interest Attorney Salary Survey documents public interest salaries
Research: Salary Trends for New Law Graduates - 1985-2013, NALP Bulletin, January 2015
Findings on First-Year Salaries from the NALP 2023 Associate Salary Survey
Compare NALP's bimodal salary curve over several years
2021 Associate Salary Survey - Sample Instrument for Review
NALP Research: Employer Types with Average Salary for Class of 2020
NALP Webinar: Disparate Outcomes: Another Look at NALP’s Employment and Salary Data, October 20, 2021
NALP 2025 Canadian Associate Salary Survey
Information for law school career services regarding NALP's annual Employment Report & Salary Survey (ERSS)
Survey participants receive a discount when using this form to order.
NALP research on member salaries, including career services offices and legal employer personnel in the U.S. and Canada
Press Release on 2018 Public Service Attorney Salary Survey, July 9, 2018.
Advising students and graduates on negotiating the terms of their offers can have an impact felt throughout their careers.
NALP Webinar: Disparate Outcomes: A New Look at NALP’s Employment and Salary Data Webinar. Discussion of employment outcomes for the Class of 2019. Presented Oct. 29, 2020 by James Leipold and Danielle Taylor.
Disparate Outcomes: A Closer Look at NALP’s Class of 2024 Employment and Salary Data
NALP press release, June 22, 2022
NALP Press Release, April 14, 2021
November 2019. Information on how to collect employment data for Class of 2019.
Here's a closer look at differences and similarities in the salary distribution curves for the six largest legal employment markets for the Class of 2014.
Over the last couple of years, a number of states and municipalities have considered or enacted measures aimed at narrowing pay gaps for women and minorities. One such measure seeks to end systemic wage inequalities by prohibiting employers from asking about or considering a job applicant’s salary history (including benefits and other compensation) when making recruitment or employment decisions. The rationale is that pay inequity is perpetuated over the course of one’s entire career when employers rely on previous disparate salaries to assess the value of a prospective employee, rather than on bona fide job-related factors such as experience...
Median salaries at the largest firms have remained quite stable for the past five years, in contrast to the mid to late 1990s.
NALP research on public interest salaries
NALP Press Release, May 10, 2023
What impact did those $180,000 first-year salaries have on NALP's survey findings for 2017? The answer is different than you might think.
NALP’s Judith Collins highlights some of the insights gained from comparing 2020 data to the recently released 2022 NALP Survey of Legal Career Professionals in Employer Organizations.
NALP Research: Buying Power Index Class of 2010
Read about NALP’s 50th edition of our annual Jobs & JDs report, a publication that provides detailed analyses on the employment and salaries of each class of graduates.
Salary transparency laws, which require eligible employers to disclose salary ranges and compensation information on public job postings, aim to address wage discrepancies and promote fair compensation.
Press Release on Employment for the Class of 2018 - Selected Findings. July 31, 2019.
Press Release on Employment for the Class of 2013 - Selected Findings. June 19, 2014.
NALP Director of Research Danielle Taylor explains how to use NALP’s Buying Power Index, a resource that helps compare the buying power of legal salaries for 93 cities.
NALP Research: Class of 2020 Buying Power Index
Presented August 9, 2016.
NALP Research: Starting Salaries - Class of 2020
NALP Research: Full-time Salaries for Jobs Lasting at Least One Year, by Employer or Job Type — Class of 2020
Does a Gender Pay Gap Exist for New Law Graduates and Has It Changed Over Time?, NALP Bulletin, October 2019
NALP Press Release, May 28, 2025
NALP Research: Class of 2018 Buying Power Index, November 2019
NALP Research: Salaries & Compensation
By Marta Ricardo and Robert White, NALP Bulletin, July 2013.
NALP Press Release, October 19, 2022
NALP Research: Buying Power Index Class of 2012, September 2013
NALP Research on Non-Binary Law School Graduates, December 2020
NALP Press Release, June 1, 2017
October 9, 2014 press release on 2014 Associate Salary Survey
NALP’s latest analysis from the 2023 Public Service Attorney Salary Survey shows that civil legal services/legal aid organizations continue to pay lower salaries as compared to other public service employers, such as public defenders and other non-profits.
Two Perspectives on Military Veterans, NALP Bulletin, February 2020
NALP Press Release, July 22, 2010
NALP Research: Class of 2024 Buying Power Index
Instructions for Compiling and Reporting for Class of 2019, Spring 2020
By Judith N. Collins, NALP Bulletin, August 2012.
Press Release on Employment for the Class of 2016 - Selected Findings. August 2, 2017.
Employment data for the Class of 2006
November 2020. Students and alumni may need assistance not only in figuring out whether an offered salary is reasonable based on the nature of the employer and its market, but also in identifying points for negotiation and in going through the negotiation process.
NALP Press Release, April 16, 2015
NALP Press Release, May 22, 2019
September 18, 2013 press release on 2013 Associate Salary Survey
NALP Research: Buying Power Index Class of 2011, January 2013
Overall Median Salaries Rise and Private Practice Employment Remains Strong for the Class of 2020, Even as Other Key Employment Metrics Decline Due to the Pandemic. August 25, 2021.
NALP JD Advantage Guide, August 2025
Presented August 11, 2020
NALP Research: Buying Power Index - Class of 2014, March 2016
NALP Research: Class of 2016 Buying Power Index, April 2018
Presented August 1, 2017.
Biennial report on salaries and duties of legal career professionals in law firms and legal employers. 2012.
Preliminary employment outcomes for the Class of 2022
Trends (Updated October 22, 2025)
NALP Research: Trends
National Employment Outcomes for the Class of 2019, August 2020.
Press Release on Employment for the Class of 2015 - Selected Findings. August 17, 2016.
Summary Findings from NALP’s 2017 US Law School Career Services Survey, NALP Bulletin, December 2017
National Employment Outcomes for the Class of 2008, June 2009.
Employment for the Class of 2019 - Selected Findings Report. August 2020.
Employment data for the Class of 2010
Press Release on Employment for the Class of 2012 - Selected Findings. June 20, 2013
NALP research on the employment experience of the Class of 2013.
Press Release on Employment for the Class of 2019 - Selected Findings. August 12, 2020.
NALP Research: New Findings on Disparities in Employment Outcomes Based on Level of Parental Education, November 2021
Press release on Employment for the Class of 2017 - Selected Findings. August 2, 2018.
Presented February 21, 2012.
Press Release on Employment for the Class of 2011 - Selected Findings. June 7, 2012.
NALP research related to the Canadian legal market
Presented February 13, 2019.
NALP’s new 2019 Associate Salary Survey report shows that the overall median first-year base salary as of January 1, 2019, was $155,000, up $20,000 (14.8%) from 2017, the year of the most recent previous survey administration. In both survey years law firms of 251+ lawyers accounted for about 70% of responses.
Employment for the Class of 2020 - Selected Findings Report. August 2021.
Biennial report on salaries and duties of legal career professionals in law firms and legal employers. December, 2018.
Biennial report on salaries and duties of legal career professionals in law firms and legal employers. 2010.
National Employment Outcomes for the Class of 2018, July 2019.
NALP Press Release, July 25, 2024
Press Release on Employment for the Class of 2014 - Selected Findings. July 30, 2015.
2020 report on salaries and other benchmarks of legal career professionals in law firms and employers. September 2020.
New research on the comparative buying power of Class of 2022 entry-level lawyer salaries in over 100 U.S. cities.
NALP Research: Employment for the Class of 2015 - Selected Findings.
NALP Research, Racial/Ethnic Representation of Class of 2019 Judicial Clerks, February 2021
NALP Research: Law School Career Services — Then and Now (2005)
Despite continuing signs of structural weaknesses in the market, there were some positive signs amid NALP findings on the Class of 2012.
NALP’s 2018 Survey of Legal Career Professionals reveals that individuals whose jobs involve primarily professional development at the department head or first level, as a group, earn more than individuals whose jobs involve primarily recruiting or those whose jobs are a mix of both. Among second-level positions, the difference reflects at least in part the greater incidence of coordinators/administrators at this level on the recruiting side than on the professional development side.
Judicial Clerks Remain Less Diverse than Law Graduates Overall, NALP Research, October 2022. judicial clerks, judicial clerkships, diversity
Biennial report on salaries and duties of legal career professionals in law firms and legal employers. 2014.
Each year NALP surveys the graduating JD class to learn about the employment experiences of new law graduates.
Press Release, Employment of Class of 2009 - Selected Findings, May 20, 2010
Class of 2019 Attains Highest Employment Rate in 12 Years as Uncertainty Looms for the Class of 2020
Presented on February 5, 2015.
November 2020. An overview of the NALP Class of 2020 Employment Report and Salary Survey (ERSS) data collection process
For the most part, salary medians have increased by about $1,000 per year for the public service attorneys whose earnings have now been researched for a decade by NALP.
NALP’s 2021-22 PSJD Fellow Chelsea-Leigh Flucus explores wage transparency and its impact on public service attorneys as employers strive to retain their workers amid the “Great Resignation.”
NALP Press Release, October 16, 2024
Presented on October 11, 2017.
Class of 2022 Employment and Salary Outcomes Shatter Records - Future Classes May Face a Tougher Market
Presented January 29, 2014.
NALP Research: Legal Recruitment — Then and Now (2002)
Biennial report on salaries and duties of legal career professionals in law firms and legal employers. 2008.
NALP's Research Director takes a look back at salary trends from 1985-2013 in both current dollars and constant dollars.
Public service attorney salaries are a key indicator of public service attorneys’ experiences of work — and one that NALP has been watching and reporting on for some time. In our reports, we’ve worked to give these salary figures context, mostly by comparing them with the salaries of private firm associates with similar experience. For legal aid attorneys tending bar and driving rideshare on the side, a more relevant — and more threatening — figure than what they might make if they changed careers is what they need to make to pay rent: the cost of living. That’s why I’m proud to report that the online, interactive version of NALP’s Public Ser...
NALP Director of Research Danielle Taylor outlines key findings on first-year salaries for associates from the 2021 Associate Salary Survey report, which is available at www.nalp.org/bookstore.
NALP Research: Law School Career Services - Changes Over Time (2007)
NALP Press Releases - Current Year
NALP New Membership Application
Analyzing decades of NALP Employment Report & Salary Survey data as part of NALP’s 50th Anniversary Commemorative Edition Bulletin.
As Judy Collins teased in her companion article, NALP will be breaking new ground with the 2018 Public Service Attorney Salary Report by releasing it simultaneously as a traditional, static PDF and an interactive web tool. The core of the tool will be a series of visualizations that readers will be able to tweak to their needs. We are excited to share this tool with you later this summer, when it will be released on www.psjd.org/salary-report, free to PSJD subscribers and for purchase to non-subscribers. We hope this new way of presenting our research will bring the survey data and Judy’s findings to life in a way that engages your students, ...
National Employment Outcomes for the Class of 2015, August 2016.
NALP Research: Trends in Median Reported Salaries — Class of 2020
Presented August 1, 2018.
ERSS Graduate Survey, Class of 2019. Fillable PDF Form.
Employment data for the Class of 2009
Market for New Law Graduates Steady - Hovering around 89% for Third Year
Member Town Hall discussion slides presented on July 15, 2020.
Among attorneys working in civil legal services organizations, as public defenders or local prosecuting attorneys, or as attorneys in public interest organizations, those providing civil legal services have the lowest median entry-level salary, have the smallest increases in salary based on experience, and have seen the slowest growth in salary levels over the past 14 years. This is a key finding from NALP/PSJD’s 2018 Public Service Attorney Salary Survey and is consistent with findings from earlier surveys which have been conducted periodically since 2004.
Here are summary findings on the salaries of primary, second, and third law school career services professionals.
Director of Research Danielle Taylor provides analysis on the results from NALP/PSJD’s 2022 Public Service Attorney Salary Survey.
2026 NALP Survey of Legal Career Professionals
Jessica Fry raised just under $13,000 in less than three months to support herself in her dream public service job. Her creative mix of fundraising efforts may spark ideas for other students.
Sharing these ten steps with alumni can help them manage salary negotiations more effectively.
Class of 2018 Preliminary ERSS Findings Webinar
National Employment Outcomes for the Class of 2020, August 2021.
By Katie Dilks, NALP Bulletin, June 2010.
LGBTQ Lawyers & Graduates
Welcome New NALP Members. Find helpful resources to get you better acquainted with your new NALP. membership
National Employment Outcomes for the Class of 2016, August 2017.
Full report on the second round of pulse surveys measuring the impact of COVID-19 on law schools and legal employers.
Market for New Law Graduates at Highest Level in 20 Years, Approaching 92%, 2008
Press Release on Employment for the Class of 2010 - Selected Findings. June 1, 2011.
National Employment Outcomes for the Class of 2017, August 2018
James Leipold, Executive Director of NALP, gives a preview of the employment and salary findings for the Class of 2019. August 11, 2020
Employment data for the Class of 2000
National Employment Outcomes for the Class of 2010, June 2011.
This "binder" will help new NALP members learn about the organization.
Market for Class of 2008 Law Graduates Shrinks
Competition for top talent will always exist but shifting the focus to your firm’s Employee Value Proposition (EPV) can be a game changer. An EVP consists of the combined benefits and rewards offered to employees in return for their commitment and capabilities.
NALP Research on Diversity & Demographics
National Employment Outcomes for the Class of 2012, July 2013.
National Employment Outcomes for the Class of 2013, July 2014.
News on NALP activities, announcements, research, and more, as well as the weekly industry news digest, NALPnow and the Bulletin+.
Presented January 20, 2016.
Social (Updated February 2, 2026)
NALP Social Media Links, LinkedIn, Instagram, link in bio
National Employment Outcomes for the Class of 2009, June 2010.
National Employment Outcomes for the Class of 2011, July 2012.
National Employment Outcomes for the Class of 2014, July 2015.
ERSS Graduate Survey, Class of 2019
NALP Class of 2021 Preliminary ERSS Findings Webinar
Employment data for the Class of 2008
Employment data for the Class of 2003
NALP New Career Models Task Force, 2014
NALP Research: Race/Ethnicity & Gender
Employment data for the Class of 2019
Why is NALP’s data on employment outcomes for a school sometimes different from the ABA’s data published for that school?
NALP: Upcoming Webinars & Conferences. Learn what educational opportunities are available for members
NALP Diversity Infographic: Women, June 2016. Data from NALP Diversity Repoort
By Mark Goldfarb, NALP Bulletin, February 2014.
Employment data for the Class of 2004
Pre-order pricing available until September 16, 2020
NALP Resources for Career Services
View archive issues for the last 8 NALPnow! email newsletters, which share information on NALP news and events.
Recent findings on the salaries, job types, and other key statistics related to military veterans among lawyers and law students, including data on veteran lawyers who work in government and private practice.
December 2020. Despite the shift at law firms to virtual and shortened summer programs in 2020, offer and acceptance rates remained near or at historical highs, but summer program class sizes continued to shrink.
NALP's Report on the Survey of Legal Employers on 2020 Summer Outcomes and First-Year Associate Plans was released in December 2020 and includes information on the outcomes for 1Ls and 2Ls participating in summer programs, as well as the latest data on first-year associate start dates.
Can students today afford to opt for a legal career in the public sector? What role can NALP play in addressing issues related to student debt loads?
Press Release, October 11, 2022
By Christina Jackson, NALP Bulletin, June 2016.
NALP Talk: The Official Podcast of NALP
Presented by Heather Jarvis, March 12, 2013.
What Do We Know About Transgender Law Graduates?, NALP Bulletin, December 2019
By Lisa Abrams and Leslie Scolnick Hauser. November 18, 2009.
By Christina Jackson, NALP Bulletin, December 2015
NALP Board Meeting Summaries
NALP Press Release, March 30, 2022
Find information on how to become a member of NALP, the National Association for Law Placement
2017 National Report: Survey for Law Students Who Interviewed with Law Firms for Summer 2017
Weekly Industry News Digest for Legal Career Professionals. Each week NALP provides a summary of news articles of interest to legal career professionals.
2021 NALP Annual Conference Handouts
February 20-22, 2020, Portland, OR
December 2018. Full text of NALP Principles.
NALP Research, Native American and Alaska Native Law Students and Lawyers, December 2023
This Resource Guide offers a full range of information on establishing a successful nontraditional-track attorney program. April 2013.
NALP (Updated August 20, 2025)
May 2021. Summarizes findings from a survey conducted in November and December 2020 and examines the skill sets and abilities that legal employers are seeking to develop in their associates.
NALP Perspectives on 2020-21 Law Student Recruiting
2015 National Report: Survey of Law Students Who Interviewed with Law Firms for Summer 2015
June 11, 2020. Full report on the first round of pulse surveys measuring the impact of COVID-19 on law schools and legal employers.
NALP 2023 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms
August 2015. Associate Exit Interview Template, Interview Script, Sample Job Descriptions to provide an overview of the types of emerging jobs
2017 Annual Conference - Session Descriptions
March 2020 report. Authors: Yolanda Cartusciello, Partner, PP&C Consulting; Aric Press, Partner, PP&C Consulting; Danielle A. Taylor, Director of Research, NALP
Recruiting Competition Intensifies, While Legal Hiring Levels Remain Steady, 2007
NALP's JD Advisors Section prepared this Best Practice Guide for managing employer outreach.
By Heather Jarvis. Lighten the Pressure on Your Lawyers with Student Loan Debt: NALP's Step-by-Step Guide for Law Firms Webinar, March 13, 2013.
2015 Annual Conference - Session Descriptions
2018 Annual Conference - Session Descriptions
Perspectives on 2022 Law Student Recruiting
2014 Annual Conference - Session Descriptions
February 2022 Perspectives on 2021 Law Student Recruiting
