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How much do lawyer get payd

is it salary or is it per hour? What are the averages for entry level, mid-level, and senior lawyers? #law #lawyer #attorney #financial-planning

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Lisa’s Answer

Hi Consuelo - depending on the kind of work arrangement, lawyers may receive a salary or they may be paid by the hour. Lawyers who are employees of law firms generally receive salaries, even if they charge their clients an amount of money per hour for their services. However, this is not always the case; some lawyers have work arrangements where they are not paid a salary, but are paid by the hour for what they do.


Salaries vary very widely, and while salaries tend to increase as attorneys gain experience, it is not always true that a more experienced attorney makes more money than a less experienced attorney. A brand new attorney working at a very large law firm in a city like New York or Los Angeles may earn $160,000/year right out of law school; a very experienced attorney working for a smaller law firm, a state government agency, a corporation or other employer might never earn that much money per year. On the other hand, there are some extremely talented and capable attorneys who earn millions of dollars a year at the height of their careers. It all depends.


If you want to earn as much money as possible while working as a lawyer, it's very helpful to study hard and do as well as you can in high school, college and law school. Achieving good grades and high scores on standardized tests like the SAT and LSAT will help you gain admission to excellent schools. Strong academic performance in excellent schools can help you get useful summer or part-time job experience that will impress the kinds of future permanent employers that offer lucrative jobs. Getting involved in school activities that develop your analytical and communication skills and that help you determine what you enjoy doing can also be very helpful.


It's practical to think about whether you can earn a good living as a lawyer, but I would encourage you to become a lawyer because you find the law interesting and exciting and you want to help people, not just because it's a way to make a lot of money. Most successful lawyers work very hard and when you are working that hard, it is very important to like, and, ideally, love what you do.


Good luck!


Sincerely,


Lisa

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Matthew’s Answer

It really depends on what type of law you do. For example criminal defense attorneys can charge by the hour/ take a retainer/ or charge a flat fee. They can not charge based on the outcome of a case. This is all based on the experience of the lawyer in their field and the type of cases you handle and can not be excessive for the geographical area.

Family lawyers can not work on a contingency biases and bill hourly. Usual billing starts around $250 dollars an hour.

Personal Injury lawyers can obtain a base salary, and some type of commission on cases that they bring in.

Experience is also key to most of these jobs. There is no one right answer for this question. This answer does not create an attorney client privileged and if you wish to seek more answers, I suggest asking another attorney.
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