NALP Bulletin, November 2018
NALP's 2018 Survey of Legal Career Professionals reveals that individuals whose jobs involve primarily professional development at the department head or first level continue, as a group, to 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. See Tables 1 and 2.
NALP's 2018 Survey of Legal Career Professionals collected information from individuals whose jobs involve recruiting, professional development, diversity initiatives, or lawyer personnel management. The survey requested that individuals provide information about their job, themselves, and the employer they work for. Thus, in contrast to other surveys of NALP employer members, this survey focused on individuals rather than on office/firm activities. A total of 430 usable surveys were received. Over half were from individuals whose job involves recruiting, and about one-quarter were from individuals whose job involves primarily professional development.
The full report on the survey, including more detailed salary and bonus findings, as well as analyses on respondent demographics and perquisites, will be available later this year as a NALP member benefit.
Table 1. Salaries and Raises by Job Hierarchy and Responsibilities — Summary of Findings from the 2018 Survey of Legal Career Professionals
| Median Salary | Average Salary | Half of Salaries Fell in Range | Median % Raise from April 2017 |
# Reporting | |||||||
| Department heads | |||||||||||
| Recruiting | $187,500 | $184,819 | $141,750– 208,815 | 3.0 | 32 | ||||||
| Professional development | 210,000 | 229,421 | 179,000–290,000 | 4.0 | 19 | ||||||
| Recruiting and professional development | 190,750 | 208,827 | 150,000–250,000 | 3.0 | 26 | ||||||
| Other functions with some recruiting or professional development* | 122,900 | 152,300 | — | 1.0 | 6 | ||||||
| First-level positions | |||||||||||
| Recruiting | $112,000 | $118,979 | $90,000–135,000 | 3.8 | 85 | ||||||
| Professional development | 131,500 | 130,561 | 100,000–168,000 | 3.0 | 37 | ||||||
| Recruiting and professional development | 103,000 | 115,718 | 98,706–139,500 | 3.0 | 17 | ||||||
| Other functions with some recruiting or professional development* | 88,500 | 99,967 | — | 2.0 | 6 | ||||||
| Second-level positions | |||||||||||
| Recruiting | $75,000 | $80,222 | $60,000–96,090 | 3.8 | 72 | ||||||
| Professional development | 103,000 | 104,994 | 77,500–131,500 | 3.0 | 32 | ||||||
| Recruiting and professional development | 78,280 | 74,214 | — | 5.0 | 9 | ||||||
| Third-level and administrative support positions* | |||||||||||
| Recruiting | $58,250 | $59,457 | $47,000–71,000 | 2.5 | 42 | ||||||
| Professional development | 51,000 | 55,158 | 49,150–60,000 | 3.0 | 11 | ||||||
*E.g., human resources, marketing, office/business manager.
Note: The "# Reporting" column shows the number of full-time salary figures reported. Groupings with fewer than five salaries reported are not shown, and only medians and averages are shown if fewer than ten salaries were reported. The number of raise percentage figures reported, including zero, is somewhat smaller.
Individuals categorized under recruiting typically spend 60% or more of their time on law student and/or lateral recruiting. Individuals categorized under professional development typically spend half or more of their time on professional development. For purposes of these analyses, time spent on diversity initiatives was also counted toward professional development.
Table 2. Salaries and Raises by Job Title and Responsibilities — Summary of Findings from the 2018 Survey of Legal Career Professionals
| Median Salary | Average Salary | Half of Salaries Fell in Range | Median % Raise from April 2017 |
# Reporting | |
| Directors or chiefs | |||||
| Recruiting | $180,000 | $176,856 | $126,000–210,000 | 3.9 | 43 |
| Professional development | 180,000 | 208,838 | 165,000–242,000 | 3.5 | 25 |
| Recruiting and professional development | 193,250 | 207,518 | 150,000–239,750 | 3.0 | 28 |
| Managers | |||||
| Recruiting | $114,000 | $116,983 | $95,441–135,000 | 3.5 | 86 |
| Professional development | 125,000 | 129,978 | 102,000–158,900 | 3.9 | 49 |
| Recruiting and professional development | 103,000 | 109,847 | 94,000–139,500 | 3.0 | 15 |
| Other functions with some recruiting or professional development* | 91,000 | 99,767 | — | 3.0 | 7 |
| Coordinators/administrators/specialists | |||||
| Recruiting | $67,550 | $68,792 | $58,000–78,000 | 3.0 | 84 |
| Professional development | 63,000 | 67,670 | 61,000–72,000 | 3.0 | 15 |
| Recruiting and professional development | 62,500 | 66,243 | 55,000–78,280 | 4.0 | 10 |
| Other functions with some recruiting or professional development* | 73,500 | 86,467 | — | 2.0 | 6 |
| Assistants | |||||
| $47,250 | $48,705 | $45,000–51,000 | 2.0 | 30 | |
*E.g., human resources, marketing, office/business manager.
Note: The "# Reporting" column shows the number of full-time salary figures reported. Groupings with fewer than five salaries reported are not shown, and only medians and averages are shown if fewer than ten salaries were reported. The number of raise percentage figures reported, including zero, is somewhat smaller.
Individuals categorized under recruiting typically spend 60% or more of their time on law student and/or lateral recruiting. Individuals categorized under professional development typically spend half or more of their time on professional development. For purposes of these analyses, time spent on diversity initiatives was also counted toward professional development.
