Skaddenfreude

Skaddenfreude: Not All Lawyers Are Loaded

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We now proudly present the inaugural installment of a regular ATL feature, Skaddenfreude: Totally Gauche Ogling of Other Lawyers’ Incomes. As explained in our introductory post, Skaddenfreude will inform you about how much different lawyers around the country are earning (and how hard they’re working to earn those salaries).
We’ve already received a number of submissions, some of which we present below, and some of which we’re saving for future editions. This week’s theme: not all lawyers are making a mint — especially those who avoid the path of Biglaw and work for the government. Here are the numbers:

(1) assistant attorney general in a state AG’s office, based in a large city, specializing in criminal law, class of 2005: $48,000 (40 hrs./week);

(2) legal research professor, at a top 50 law school in a mid-sized city, class of 2002: $46,000;

(3) attorney advisor for a city agency in a large city, class of 2003: $61,000 (“I only get a raise every two years, which is less than the cost of living. I work about 50-60 hours per week… last summer, I was working almost 70 hours a week. Working for the city gov’t blows.”);

(4) deputy public defender, in a small city, specializing in criminal/juvenile cases, class of 1999: $48,000 (“Bonus? HA!”).

So if you’re some oppressed law firm associate, constantly bitching to anyone who will listen about your brutal hours, look at it this way: You’re in a cage, but at least it’s gilded. You’ve made your Pratesi-swathed bed; now lie in it.
We thank the ATL correspondents who wrote in to share their salary info with us. And if you’ve found this information interesting, please do your part to make future installments possible. Please send in your salary dirt, by email (subject line: “Skaddenfreude”). For more details about what to submit, click here. Thanks!
Earlier: Skaddenfreude: Totally Gauche Ogling of Other Lawyers’ Incomes
Skaddenfreude: An Amendment

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