September 2013
This information is being made available for prospective law school applicants and others interested in the starting salaries of new law school graduates. Want to learn more about the entry-level job market for recent law school graduates? See NALP's annual Jobs & JDs report.
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Full-time Salaries for Jobs Lasting at Least One Year, by Employer or Job Type —
Class of 2012
| Employer or job type | Median salary | Average salary | The middle half of salaries fall in a range from: | Most frequently reported salary | Percentage of jobs accounted for by this employer or job type |
| Law firm, 2-10 attorneys | $50,000 | $54,368 | $42,500 - 60,000 | $50,000 | 21.8% |
| Law firm, 11-25 attorneys | 61,000 | 65,635 | 50,000 - 75,000 | 50,000 | 5.0 |
| Law firm, 26-50 attorneys | 75,000 | 77,585 | 60,000 - 90,000 | 65,000 | 2.9 |
| Law firm, 51-100 attorneys | 87,500 | 94,264 | 70,000 - 115,000 | 70,000/100,000/160,000* | 2.3 |
| Law firm, 101-250 attorneys | 110,000 | 113,389 | 90,000 - 145,000 | 160,000 | 2.8 |
| Law firm, 251-500 attorneys* | 160,000 | 137,358 | 115,000 - 160,000 | 160,000 (48.2%) | 2.7 |
| Law firm, 501+ attorneys* | 160,000 | 151,200 | 160,000 - 160,000 | 160,000 (76.6%) | 9.7 |
| Business — all | 65,000 | 72,651 | 50,000 - 84,000 | 60,000 | 17.9 |
| Jobs for which bar passage is required | 65,000 | 72,586 | 53,000 - 85,000 | 60,000 | 5.2 |
| Jobs for which JD is an advantage | 65,000 | 73,867 | 52,000 - 80,500 | 75,000 | 7.1 |
| Temporary attorney thru an agency | 49,400 | 50,193 | 43,700 - 52,000 | 52,000 | 1.3 |
| Government — all | 52,000 | 55,097 | 43,000 - 62,038 | 40,000 | 12.1 |
| Federal government | 62,467 | 65,584 | 53,000 - 74,872 | 62,467 | 3.6 |
| State government | 45,000 | 46,947 | 40,000 - 52,000 | 40,000 | 4.4 |
| Local government | 52,482 | 53,980 | 45,300 - 60,000 | 50,000 | 3.9 |
| Prosecutorial jobs—all levels of government | 49,600 | 49,600 | 41,000 - 56,500 | 40,000 | 3.7 |
| Military — all types of jobs | 60,000 | 60,639 | 48,313 - 70,000 | 60,000 | 0.9 |
| Judicial clerkships — all | 52,600 | 51,838 | 44,065 - 60,000 | 60,000 | 8.9 |
| Federal courts | 60,000 | 59,994 | 57,408 - 62,909 | 60,000 | 3.4 |
| State courts | 45,000 | 47,230 | 43,000 - 52,000 | 44,306 | 4.6 |
| Local courts | 42,930 | 41,518 | 37,422 - 45,000 | 44,000 | 0.9 |
| Public interest — all | 44,621 | 45,487 | 40,000 - 50,000 | 40,000 | 7.2 |
| Legal services | 43,000 | 42,007 | 38,000 - 47,773 | 40,000/45,000*** | 2.1 |
| Public defenders | 44,000 | 45,501 | 40,000 - 50,000 | 40,000 | 1.9 |
| Academic — all | 50,000 | 54,733 | 40,000 - 60,000 | 50,000 | 2.7 |
*Since so many salaries in each of these categories were reported as $160,000 (as noted in parentheses), therefore
$160,000 is best thought of as a prevailing salary and, with a few exceptions, the top salary.
**Tie at these three values.
***Tie at these two values.
Source: NALP Employment Report and Salary Survey for the Class of 2012
