Lawyer Pay
Assume new BigLaw associates are all making $225K? Assume once more, new NALP report says
Regardless of studies of $225,000 beginning salaries for BigLaw associates, most legislation companies are paying much less, in keeping with a report launched Wednesday by the Nationwide Affiliation for Legislation Placement. (Picture from Shutterstock)
Regardless of studies of $225,000 beginning salaries for BigLaw associates, most legislation companies are paying much less, in keeping with a report launched Wednesday by the Nationwide Affiliation for Legislation Placement.
As of Jan. 1, the median base wage for first-year associates was $200,000 in all companies surveyed and $215,000 in companies with greater than 700 attorneys, in keeping with a Might 28 press launch summarizing the 2025 U.S. Affiliate Wage Survey report.
The pay figures are based mostly on responses from 437 companies, 87% of which had greater than 250 attorneys.
Median salaries have remained flat since 2023, a sign that the market has softened, stated Nikia L. Grey, government director of the NALP, within the press launch. She attributed the shortage of motion to waning “expertise wars,” which implies that there’s much less strain for companies to lift salaries to stay aggressive.
Solely 32% of reporting legislation places of work paid $225,000 to first-year hires, though the proportion paying that determine was larger—45%—amongst companies of greater than 700 attorneys.
“Nonetheless, $225,000 emerged as essentially the most often reported wage determine, suggesting a possible pattern,” in keeping with the press launch.
In six of 19 markets analyzed within the survey, the median is already $225,000. These markets are Austin, Texas; Boston; Houston; New York Metropolis; San Francisco; and the Washington, D.C., space.
Median salaries for all associates are $200,000 for first-year associates, $210,000 for second-year associates, $220,625 for third-year associates, $238,125 for fourth-year associates, $255,000 for fifth-year associates, $271,175 for sixth-year associates, $286,700 for seventh-year associates and $330,000 for eighth-year associates.
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