North American survey reveals salary scales for lawyers. But the study does not say everything ...
Perhaps this is an indicator that the economy is not doing that badly, all things considered. Despite the European crisis, unemployment in the United States and the roller coaster of financial markets, law firms have started hiring again and intend to step up in the coming months. And when lawyers recruit, it's because their clients are busy and they have the money to pay them!
This is what we learn by browsing the 2012 Salary Guide, just published by Robert Half Legal. The international recruitment firm surveyed more than 350 lawyers in the United States and Canada to uncover general trends in the North American legal services industry. The study also compiles the latest statistics on the remuneration of lawyers.
The results are somewhat astonishing and contradict the bad news we are reading in the media these days. After years of downsizing and salary freezes, corporate law firms and departments are recruiting and salaries are on the rise.
“Things are moving, we are very busy because the law firms have stopped being afraid,” says Montreal legal recruiter Caroline Haney. During the recession, she explains, law firms preferred to overload their teams rather than take the risk of hiring for nothing. Today, they meet their needs.
It is mainly in the area of business law that legal firms and departments seek to hire, both in the United States and in Canada. But, a sign that the American and Canadian economies do not have the same strength, just over a quarter (27%) of American lawyers questioned indicated that they wanted to recruit in this sector, while they are almost half (49%). ) among their Canadian colleagues.
In litigation, it is the opposite. One in five American lawyers (20%) want to hire; among Canadians, it is one in seven (14%). Are American customers more belligerent?
How much we earn
Now for the numbers. Robert Half Legal categorized the pay scales by year of experience and by office size. Thus, the more experience a lawyer has and the more he works for a large office, the higher his salary.
First observation, young American lawyers earn more than Canadians. A lawyer who starts at a large American firm will earn between $ 107,750 and $ 132,000 in the first year. In Canada, he will only earn between $ 82,000 and $ 89,500. The same goes for a lawyer who has between one and three years of practice. In the United States, he can expect to earn between $ 108,500 and $ 148,750, but only between $ 87,000 and $ 119,500 in Canada. In a small practice, salaries range from $ 50,250 to $ 73,750 in the United States, and $ 48,250 to $ 65,500 in Canada.
On the other hand, the differences are smaller between experienced lawyers. At one level, Canadians even earn more than their counterparts across the border. Thus, a senior lawyer (10 to 12 years of practice) will earn in a large office between $ 185,000 and $ 264,750 in Canada, but from $ 164,000 to $ 246,250 in the United States.
Interestingly, the survey allows salaries to be compared by region. Not surprisingly, lawyers earn more in New York than in Toronto, and more in Toronto than in Montreal. A lawyer with five years of experience in a mid-sized firm earns $ 318,500 in New York, $ 214,500 in Toronto and $ 210,500 in Montreal.
Partners do much more
Of course, these numbers are averages and do not take into account bonuses and other forms of compensation. They say nothing, either, about what the associates pocket. Too bad, because it is at this level that we can judge the disproportion or not of this industry. In Montreal, it is not uncommon for a young partner in a large office to raise more than $ 500,000 a year. Before the recession, in some offices like Stikeman and Davies, about 20 partners of these firms earned more than $ 1 million a year. Superstars - there are a few in the metropolis - pocket more than $ 2 million a year. In Toronto, it climbs to 2.5 million and more.
“It's true, but the remuneration of the partners depends on the clientele they bring back to the office year after year,” explains Dominique Tardif, director of ZSA, in Montreal. This is why, she says, there are significant wage gaps between associates - those who bring in clients and business and those who bring in less.
The remuneration of partners also depends on the structure adopted by the firm. Some will tolerate declines in temporary client turnover without reducing the partner's remuneration; others are intransigent. In 2007, for example, a partner in a Montreal office received more than $ 750,000; the next year,
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