Average Attorney Salary

"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." - Shakespeare's Henry the Sixth, Part II.

Shakespeare may not have liked the idea of legal practice, but his disapproval hasn't discouraged thousands of aspiring students from acquiring law degrees and pursuing attorney jobs each year. A professional person authorized to practice law is called attorney. You may select a single area to specialize in, for instance, labor, criminal, civil, tax, etc. or may practice broadly in different areas of law. An attorney job is one of the highest paying jobs all over the world. Before taking a look at the average attorney salary, let us take a look at the responsibilities of an attorney.

What Does an Attorney Do

• Conducts lawsuits.
• Represents clients in criminal, civil or any other types of litigation.
• Draws up legal documents.
• Manages or advises clients on legal transactions for issues arising from actual or anticipated lawsuits.
• A corporate attorney designs and recommends company policy and position on legal issues.
• Organizes legal pleadings, motions, discovery, stipulations, etc.
• He may be required to write, review and edit reports, opinions, correspondence, articles and other documents.
• He is expected to represent the company through the IPO process and attend to SEC and public shareholder issues.
• He examines and counsels on legal, policy and environmental issues regarding proposed new products, new constructions, protecting intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, financial offerings, financial structuring, securities offerings, compliance issues for a pre-IPO company, ESOP transactions, nondisclosure agreements, outsourcing agreements and business strategic planning.

Attorney Qualification

Attorneys are responsible officers who work for the court. Attorneys need extensive education to become qualified for practicing the law. After any undergraduate degree, you are supposed to take the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) and apply to law school. After three years, the JD degree will be conferred upon you, after successful completion of law school training. JD is the abbreviation for "Juris Doctor" or "Doctorate of Jurisprudence." Then you have to pass the bar exam for the state in which you intend to practice. It takes at least seven years of higher education to become an attorney. Here follows the most awaited information on the average salary of an attorney.

Average Attorney Salary

Attorney salary varies according to the qualification, experience, location, type and size of the company or industry, employee credentials, employer's capacity, etc. Attorney salary range for government jobs may be different from private jobs. Similarly, entry-level attorney salary range will be different from senior level attorney salary range. Attorneys in the private sector earn a lot while some who dedicate their services to public welfare either in government or in the non-profit sector, do not earn much. But they do enjoy blessings of the people as they make a difference in their lives.

• Starting attorney salary range - around $46,000 - around $70,000.
• Attorney salary range (Insurance Defense) - around $60,185 - around $92,950.
• Attorney salary range (Government Jobs) - around $59,260 - around $1,03,040.
• Attorney salary range (Civil Litigation) - around $61,055 - around $1,01,430.
• Attorney salary range (Legal Services) - around $55,945 - around $1,06,230.
• Attorney salary range (Law Firms) - around $56,060 - around $1,05,150.
• Attorney salary range (United States Government, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ) - around $70,000 - around $1,48,000.
• Attorney salary range (U.S. Air Force) - around $50,900 - around $1,45,820.
• Attorney salary range (U.S.Army) - around $65,060 - around $1,00,000.
• Thus according to the available statistics, the average attorney salary will be between $59,127 and $1,19,861.

You may like to browse 'judge salary' for more information. I hope you found the information on the average salary of an attorney, provided in this article, helpful. Besides the required educational qualification, you need to be an expert in public speaking techniques and public relations. Aggressive nature, determination and self-confidence are also essential if you want to become a successful attorney.