The world’s largest legal search firm, Major Lindsey & Africa, has published its 2016 Compensation Report (linked here) and it is generally good news for large firm lawyers. And good news for these lawyers means good news for all lawyers in private practice.
Average compensation for all respondents was reported as $877,000, up 22% from 2014 ($716,000). Median compensation also supposedly rose dramatically, climbing 21%, from $475,000 in 2014 to $575,000 in 2016. The average billing rate for all respondents was $685, up $77 (+13%) from 2014 ($608).
Dig into the 121-page report for details. Who gets paid more, men or women? White people vs. people of color or “Mixed Races”? You already know the correct answers to these questions. But you might find the specifics and deeper detail interesting.
One caveat: this survey was sent to thousands of lawyers and MLA got responses from just 3%. And there is no indication of any kind of verification or validation of the information provided by this non-random sample. Do you imagine that this sub-group, the 3% survey respondents, yields accurate data for the entire group? I am not trained in statistical validation but it seems to me important to keep in mind that this information might be skewed (and particularly inflated and inaccurate as to the Minnesota market, in particular).