Because law salaries change with the ebb and flow of the market, savvy lawyers need to stay on top of law salary news and trends to know what they are worth on the open market as well as to better evaluate their current salary.

Far from the booming law salary days of the 1980's, law salaries have deflated to reflect economic realities and the glut of attorneys hitting the market. Some notable trends include:

1. Many firms are cutting attorney salaries by outsourcing legal work.

2. More firms are relying on contract attorneys as opposed to expensive associates.

3. Firms may offer more creative benefits to new lawyers to offset lower attorney salaries.

Law salaries can vary significantly from law clerks to in house counsel, as well as from small firm associates to big firm associates. To ensure that you have the information and tools necessary to keep up with emerging trends, here are some tips on where to go for news, advice and reports.

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Browse legal periodicals focusing on legal salaries

Online legal newsletters and ezines are one of the best sources for staying on top of law salary tools news and trends. These sources are frequently updated and are a prime source of information about the issues affecting attorney salaries.

I recommend: Above the Law is a legal tabloid that discussed many issues regarding law firm salaries. It also profiles alternate careers for attorneys and compares and contrasts salary information. Law.com features national legal news and offers a weekly newsletter and an active blog.

Check major legal research websites for law salary news

Those websites providing online research resources for attorneys tend to also have sections devoted to the issue of attorney salaries and benefits.

I recommend: Findlaw's Infirmation section offers a wealth of information on firm salaries and other statistics as provided by firm insiders and legal recruiters. LexisNexis' The Hub provides a variety of information for new attorneys including average salary information, starting bonuses and a career guidance section.

Follow message boards where attorneys reveal and discuss lawyer salaries

One of the best ways to find the latest news and trends relating to the salary of a lawyer, is to go directly to the source. Many legal websites contain message boards where people post about their own salaries or the average lawyer salary in their area.

I recommend: Greedy Associates is where attorneys go to dish about who is showing them the money and who isn't. Banned by many law firms, Greedy Associates is the ultimate source for information on business law salaries. The Vault also provides law salary charts based on insider salary information and, for a price, provides insider profiles of the top 500 law firms.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Join legal networking groups and associations that keep their members abreast of the latest law salary tools news and trends.

Attorney salaries rank among the highest in all professions. As a firm owner or human resources professional, it's your job to make sure you're getting what you pay for. But you also want to provide a fair and competitive wage to keep competent attorneys on staff.

Setting specific salary guidelines and performance benchmarks requires a lot of planning and research. The ultimate goal should be coming up with a compensation plan that boosts productivity but also fits in with your bottom line.

A number of factors go into determining salary of a lawyer, including:

1. Law salary depends heavily on location. A lawyer in a small Midwest city isn't going to expect as much in salary as a lawyer working in a major coastal metropolis.

2. The area of law expertise or the particular position within the firm can sway salary. Corporate law salaries are usually the highest.

3. Legal salaries are lower at a smaller firm or one that is set up as a non-profit.

4. Salary of a lawyer will also depend upon years of experience.

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Research legal salaries

Quite a bit of lawyer salary survey information can be found online. That information can help you determine what salaries are appropriate and develop compensation policies.

I recommend: Mercer's ePrism and Mercer PayMonitor tools may prove to be helpful. Or check out Vault for law salary information. You must, however, sign up for a gold membership to access full details.

Educate yourself on lawyer salary information by attending a webinar

Standards in salaries change constantly. Keeping informed on trends in the human resources and management fields can prove to be beneficial. Depending on your position, attending a webinar could also count as continuing education hours.

I recommend: The Economic Research Institute's distance learning center offers a variety of human resources courses for free. For a fee, various salary management webinars are available from WorldatWork.

Consider purchasing software to help with setting lawyer salaries

A number of software companies offer compensation packages to help out with the task. Make sure you review all of the functions before you purchase, as some may not apply specifically to the law field. If anything, you may find the software good as a guide.

I recommend: Order a free trial, schedule a demo or get a product tour of Halogen Software's eCompensation software package. Or check out LaserBeam Software for its LaserComp 4.0 software. View a slide show about the software and see what the application looks like.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Average lawyer salary for those in private practice with 4 to 9 years of experience can range from $118,000 to $184,000 at a large law firm. If the firm ranks in the Top 100 firms in the United States, the average salary can top out at $500,000 or more annually.

Law school is not only a time consuming experience, but also an expensive one requiring you to make a legitimate lawyer salary to make ends meet. Most graduates leave school with massive debt and a lot of highly specialized knowledge, but with no real idea regarding how to turn that knowledge into a high paying lawyer salary.

Fortunately, if you have a career counseling office at your law school, there are already people available to help. Making the most of law salary tools means using those services as much as you can. Some services they provide could include:

1. Forwarding your resume to those firms that seem a good match with your lawyer salary expectations.

2. Arranging informational meetings and lunches where you can intermingle with other lawyers and discuss attorney salaries.

3. Counseling you on your career goals and salary needs to more effectively target your search.

Lawyer salaries can change by area and type of practice. While some law school graduates may walk away from school making over a $100,000 per year, it is much more likely that the average law student will earn half that. Many online resources can help you assess your salary expectations.

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Research the average lawyer salary by legal field

If pay is your most important factor in considering an attorney job, you need to research just what types of legal jobs offer high paying salaries. The following websites are useful for finding information about the average salary of a lawyer in your area, cost of living, increases and bonuses.

I recommend: LawJobs.com offers career advice, has a search engine that allows you to search for job by area or field and has a law firm and employer directory. Greedy Associates has a message board where fellow lawyers or law school grads post salary information about their own firms anonymously to avoid any negative fallout. This is one of the most honest and unflinching looks at how law firms pay and treat their associates.

Sign up for a law jobs notification service for a variety of lawyer salaries

Law job notification services are effective law salary tools basics because they make your job hunt easier by notifying when jobs meeting your needs are specifications come available.

I recommend: Indeed is a comprehensive database that lets you enter your career choice and location and provides a daily list of those jobs that most fill your needs. Indeed can send you daily email alerts so that no job passes you by. Careerbuilder.com is one of the world's largest job search database. It provides job searches, job tools, job search advice as well as job alerts directed to your search.

Network to learn about typical lawyer salaries in the area

Meeting other legal professionals is one of the best ways to learn about attorney salaries and other lawyer salary information. Consider joining a legal association or group to stay on top of the tips and trends in legal salaries.

I recommend: The American Bar Association has a Young Lawyers Division. It provides tools and opportunities young lawyers need to succeed both professionally and personally. You can also network with other attorneys using the state bar association list at HG.org. Most state bar associations also have sections for young lawyers or lawyers of any age who have just recently passed the bar. These can be great sources of information on the average lawyer salary and law salary tools basics.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Remember that not all law students must go on to be lawyers. There are many lucrative and creative ways of using a law degree that does not involve the traditional practice of law so you can make the law salary you want.

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.

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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.

I recommend: 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.

I recommend: 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.

I recommend: 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.

I recommend: 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.

I recommend: 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.

I recommend: 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.