Top Law Schools

My bankruptcy clerkship is technically ending next September. The Judge has offered an extension, even possibly career, but I don't think I'd want to do an extra 2 years (making 4 years total, though I'd consider one) and definitely not career. I'm licensed in Utah, working in California right now.

How can I find out what typical salaries are in the Salt Lake metropolitan area? Or how to transition to private practice? I've also applied to the DOJ honors program, but doubt I'll get anything because I was barely in the top half of my law school. Any tips would be great.

Typical salaries for big firms in town range from around 105-125. Not sure what smaller firms pay. The nalp directory has a lot of good info on some of the regional/national firms in town, but it doesn't have information about the big local firms which play a huge role in the local legal market.

Also, slc can be a pretty tough market to break into, even with strong ties, since there are two good law schools in the area, plus tons of people who went to the U and BYU for undergrad and want to come back after going to law school out of state. I'd recommend reaching out to alumni or people you know in town to get some tips and start making connections. Networking made a huge difference for me when I was applying to jobs in Salt Lake.