A survey of earnings of solo and small-firm attorneys in the United States finds that the average attorney’s compensation dropped last year, while a wide gender gap persists.
Conducted for the second year, the Martindale-Avvo Attorney Compensation Report said that the average compensation for a solo or small-firm attorney in 2018 was $194,000, down $4,000 from 2017.
Even so, most attorneys reported that their year-over-year compensation rose or remained the same in 2018, with 49% saying it rose and 31% saying it remained the same.
But the survey — which is based on responses from 7,814 attorneys across two-dozen practice areas — found a disturbing disparity in pay between men and women, with women attorneys earning 36% less than their male counterparts.
In part, the survey says, this disparity may be attributed to the number of years in practice. Women in the survey had practiced an average of 16.3 years, compared to 22.7 years for men. In addition, a higher proportion of women represent consumers, which is less lucrative than representing businesses.
Solos earn less than attorneys in small firms, the survey found. Average earnings for a solo in 2018 were $159,000, while the average for a small-firm attorney were $213,000. Attorneys who represent businesses earn more than those who represent consumers.
The most lucrative practice area is medical malpractice, followed by personal injury, workers’ compensation, intellectual property, business, employment, real estate, estate planning, criminal defense, family, bankruptcy, probate and immigration. While the average compensation for a medical malpractice lawyer was $267,000, for an immigration lawyer, it was $134,000.
One finding of this survey is at odds with the widely cited Legal Trends Report conducted each year since 2016 by the practice management company Clio. Clio’s report found that lawyers spend only 2.3 hours a day on billable tasks
