Law Salary Tools Key Terms

Know key terms for the area of expertise to understand how they affect law salary

By Tara McClendon, Freelance Writer/Editor Tara McClendon

When it comes to law salary tools, key terms based on area of expertise can help you to find the best tools to use. For example, many salary tools find information based on the position, or title, of an employee. Other factors that can affect salary tools include whether a company is a private practice or a corporate law firm. Salary tools may return different results for a contract lawyer than for an associate.

Legal salary survey

A legal salary survey can give you a snapshot analysis for what lawyers make in salary. The type of survey you get will depend on the company that provides the information. Some companies provide cost of living and median salary ranges. Other may include salary divide into job description or by years of experience.
Try: PayScale offers a legal salary survey divided by years of experience.

Area of expertise

Lawyers often specialize, or practice law in a specific area of expertise. The specialization often affects salary ranges. A public defender may make less money than a lawyer specializing in personal injury.
Try: ResearchLawyers offers a list of the different areas of expertise in which a lawyer may specialize. You can click on the links to get more information about each area.

Private law practice

Lawyers who decide to go into a private law practice often expect a better salary than those working at a corporate law office. This can often depend on their area of expertise, the number of years experience that they have, the location of the practice and other factors.
Try: Simply Hired offers a salary tool to help you determine private law practice salary.

Corporate law office salary

A corporate law office salary can sometimes be less than a lawyer could make going into a private practice, but a corporate firm can often offer incentives a lawyer can't get venturing out on her own. Using salary tools that compare corporate salaries can help you determine what to offer.
Try: The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides an overview on corporate law careers and compares the average salary for a corporate lawyer to that of other areas.

Contract attorney

A contract attorney's salary depends on the type of work he or she performs. Usually a contract attorney agrees to a set fee or a set hourly wage prior to starting the contract. Once the contract starts, the attorney makes the agreed fee for the duration of the project.
Try: Along with going over the benefits of working as a contract attorney, Assigned Counsel provides ranges a contract attorney can expect to make.

Law associate

In corporate firms, there are class levels of employment, which affect the salary. Most entry level lawyers begin at the associate level. A partner is usually at a higher class level than an associate.
Try: Law.com works to stay current on the on goings in the law industry. You can use it as an online tool to keep apprised of things that affect salary, such as pay cuts at the associate level of large law firms.