Top Law Schools

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if there is a place where I could get data regarding the salary of a senior associate (ex 7th year) at a large law firm in different cities. Specifically I am looking for the differential between Philadelphia and NY/SF? For a given law firm (or different large law firms), what is the difference in salary one would take for a given year in a smaller city like Philadelphia.

Additionally, would one take a similar pay cut in Texas and Colorado or do they pay similar to NY/SF?

Thanks for the insight.

macbook00 wrote:Hi everyone,

I was wondering if there is a place where I could get data regarding the salary of a senior associate (ex 7th year) at a large law firm in different cities. Specifically I am looking for the differential between Philadelphia and NY/SF? For a given law firm (or different large law firms), what is the difference in salary one would take for a given year in a smaller city like Philadelphia.

Additionally, would one take a similar pay cut in Texas and Colorado or do they pay similar to NY/SF?

Thanks for the insight.

It sounds like you mean biglaw offices in different areas. Assuming that to be the case, it would not be a similar pay cut in Texas but might be in Colorado. Lots of larger Texas firms pay market or close to it. Colorado firms pay substantially less. I'm not sure about Philadelphia.

Thank you! Anyone else with other insight?

There are some firms in Texas that pay NYC market. Other than that, once you go into a smaller market you can expect a significant pay decrease which widens with every year in seniority.

I think a decent starting point is to assume that at a smaller market firm you'll get salary increases of 5k a year or so. That's what I've seen in my home market, anyway. Philly might be a bit more generous because of its proximity to NYC.

It differs drastically based on market, but, as mentioned above, it’s probably around $5000 a year. Some are closer to $10k but it really depends on how much non-equity partners are making within the specific firm.

Most of these firms pay non-equity partners in the mid-to-high 200ks, so associate salary is usually capped at 250k.

Also, at some firms, a raise every year isn’t even guaranteed.