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I see all these stats stating that the average starting salary for public law in NYC is around $53 000...what are the chances of improving your salary as you advance in your career? Are they high, given that NYC is arguably the greatest legal market in the world?

Is this a trick question? The lucky managers might hit 6 figures. The DA and his couple chiefs will go beyond that. That's about it. NYC is largely built around Wall Street and the folks who serve it, not Public Interest Lawyers.

No.

If you want to live the "Sheen Dream" public interest probably isn't the area of law for you...

Okay, thanks. I'm a junior in undergrad trying to figure my life out, I'm not sure how all the legal markets work.

Sheendream wrote:Okay, thanks. I'm a junior in undergrad trying to figure my life out, I'm not sure how all the legal markets work.

If you want to do PI, look at the LRAP programs offered by your prospective schools. these are programs that assist with loan repayment (and forgiveness after a number of years) depending on what area of law you work in. Better programs generally have more generous max salaries ($80k at some schools versus $50k at other) and more generous terms overall.

I'd also guess that the "PI" numbers are affected heavily by govt salaries, which tend to be higher than legal aid/non-profit salaries. The city starts at $60K, e.g., whereas I've heard of non-profits offering $30K.

There is a bit of misinformation in this thread, I feel.

Yes, city jobs in NYC are all fairly low paying. But, the state pays a bit more, and the federal government pays a pretty decent salary. It's not that uncommon for someone to go from the NYC law dept or one of the DAs offices to the US Attorney's office, and that's public law in NYC with a good salary.