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In their first year, lawyers earn pay that clusters into two groups rather than around one average. Big-firm associates start on the Cravath market scale at $235,000. Most other new lawyers earn the national entry median of $151,160 per year (BLS median for lawyers, May 2024).
By Ali Unar, JD candidate at Georgetown Law and founder of Lovare Institut. Last updated August 2026. Figures on this page were verified in August 2026 or point readers to the current source.
In their first year, lawyers earn pay that clusters into two groups rather than around one average. Big-firm associates start on the market scale at $235,000. Most other new lawyers earn the national entry median of $151,160 per year (BLS median for lawyers, May 2024). The gap is structural, set by employer type at the point of hire.
First-year pay is bimodal, a pattern NALP has tracked for years, so the arithmetic average lands in an empty valley between the two peaks. A handful of large firms set a high market rate to compete for graduates, while the bulk of legal employers pay near the median. Quoting one average therefore blends two separate realities.
Current figures behind these factors come from see the linked source (see the linked source).
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First-year lawyer pay is bimodal, per NALP. A minority of graduates reach big-firm associate pay at $235,000, and the majority earn the profession's entry median of $95,000 (the NALP Class of 2024 overall median; the mean was $125,926). Very few new lawyers earn amounts in between the two peaks.
The highest-paid fields of law are corporate and M&A, patent and intellectual property, tax, and finance and securities, especially at large firms. Patent practice often requires a technical or science degree, which limits supply and raises pay. Current specialty pay bands track roughly $235,000 in market-rate BigLaw regardless of practice area; BLS does not break lawyer pay out by specialty.
The Biglaw salary scale is the lockstep, seniority-based pay grid that leading large firms match in unison. It sets one market base for each class year rather than negotiating individually. The current first-year rung is $235,000, and each subsequent year steps up on a published schedule.
Verified August 2026.
August 21, 2026
August 21, 2026