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This salary guide, through its calculations, is suppose to provide a guide to what the salary range in your city should be based on the size of the firm.

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/files/ ... _guide.pdf

I recently got an offer from a midsize/small firm, and their offer is on the low end of this guide, would it be smart to show this as a means to negotiate for a higher pay? Starting a bad footing with the HR/Admin person seems like a bad idea.

If you are applying as a junior associate the firm’s offer will [likely] be seriously fixed. Your linked salary guide might provide you a guideline but it’s highly unlikely to be of any real-world help ― other than it might make you look very foolish. But sure, if the offer is substantially lower than market, you might try to negotiate.

This guide is obviously dated, given that BL starts out about $45k more than what the guide indicates.

Get a second offer. You cant negotiate without a second offer as there is no market for you.

jkpolk wrote:Get a second offer. You cant negotiate without a second offer as there is no market for you.

jkpolk is correct. His advice might seem basic, but it is rationally based and correct.

Anonymous User wrote:If you are applying as a junior associate the firm’s offer will [likely] be seriously fixed. Your linked salary guide might provide you a guideline but it’s highly unlikely to be of any real-world help ― other than it might make you look very foolish. But sure, if the offer is substantially lower than market, you might try to negotiate.

This guide is obviously dated, given that BL starts out about $45k more than what the guide indicates.

It also suggests that first year salary at a "small firm" in Boston is $73k - $105k. That seems high, right? Across the board the tables seem more compressed than bi-modal.

cron1834 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:If you are applying as a junior associate the firm’s offer will [likely] be seriously fixed. Your linked salary guide might provide you a guideline but it’s highly unlikely to be of any real-world help ― other than it might make you look very foolish. But sure, if the offer is substantially lower than market, you might try to negotiate.

This guide is obviously dated, given that BL starts out about $45k more than what the guide indicates.

It also suggests that first year salary at a "small firm" in Boston is $73k - $105k. That seems high, right? Across the board the tables seem more compressed than bi-modal.

I had the same reaction. OP: Not all small firms are created equal. For example, the market salary for a junior associate in a small PI firm might be different than the market salary for a junior associate in a similarly sized firm that does insurance defense, and that insurance-defense firm might pay different salaries than an intellectual-property boutique of similar size. Don't make assumptions about the market based on published averages. Follow the advice of jpolk and kellyfrost: get additional offers.