The Economics of Practicing Law: A 2001 Snapshot

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See how the business side of your practice compares to that of your peers in several key areas: billing methods, hourly rates, overhead costs, personal income, and more.

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Figure 1
2000 Attorney Net Income by Principal Position,
Full-time Attorneys Only

Principal Position	N*	Mean	Median
Sole Practitioner	151	$80,341	$61,000
Sole Practitioner with Associates	25	107,600	96,000
Sole Practitioner Sharing Space	12	76,417	46,000
Partner in Firm with 2-7 Partners	156	121,352	100,000
Partner in Firm with 8+ Partners	54	184,823	143,750
Associate in Firm with 2-7 Partners	58	58,474	52,250
Associate in Firm with 8+ Partners	43	93,105	85,000
Arbitrators/Mediators/ALJ	6	75,367	79,500
City/State/County Government	146	72,864	75,000
Federal Government	9	77,422	78,000
In-House Counsel	69	89,196	80,000
Legal Aid/Legal Services	9	53,556	45,000
Law Clerk	5	31,800	34,000
Other Classifications	13	66,153	60,000
All Attorneys	758	$94,501	$79,000
*N = Number Responding

Figure 2
2000 Annual Net Income by Years in Practice,
Full-time Attorneys Only

Years in Practice	N*	Mean	Median
1-2	42	$50,781	$42,650
3-5	72	57,546	49,500
6-10	117	71,796	65,000
11-15	111	90,716	78,500
16-25	240	106,902	85,000
26 or more	170	122,761	95,105
All Attorneys	758	$94,501	$79,000
*N = Number Responding

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5
Distribution of 2001 Attorney Hourly Billing Rates
by Region and City Population

Office Location
by Region	N*	Mean	Median
Northwest	85	$120	$120
Northeast	94	134	130
Central/East	100	146	125
Southwest	103	145	140
Southeast	72	154	150
Milwaukee County	85	176	175
Office Location
by City Population	N*	Mean	Median
Less than 5,000	108	$117	$120
5,000-24,999	101	133	135
25,000-39,999	33	185	150
40,000-99,999	129	136	130
100,000 or more	174	170	168
All	545	146	135
*N = Number Responding

Figure 6
2001 Typical Flat Fees Charged for Legal Services

	% Who Charge	Mean	Median
Service	a Flat Fee	Fee	Fee
Simple Will	87%	$134	$110
Deed Preparation	83	82	75
Power of Attorney	83	69	60
Directives to Physicians	79	51	50
Traffic Tickets	64	364	250
Articles of Incorporation/
Association	62	431	400
Purchase or Sale of
Real Property	49	426	400
Sale of Personal
Property/Bill of Sale	49	155	63
Note Preparation	47	87	50
Probating a Will with
Independent Executor	31	1,725	1,700
Patents/Trademarks	29	3,069	2,750
Other		4,287	650

Figure 7
2001 Use of Marketing Device by Firm Size

		1-10	11-25	>25
Marketing Device	All Firms	Attys	Attys	Attys
Yellow Pages Block Display	60%	56%	69%	39%
Firm Brochure and Resume	32	9	34	78
Newspaper/Periodical Articles	20	12	21	31
Employment of PR Firm	4	1	3	15
Newspaper Advertising	18	16	18	19
Marketing Plan	15	5	10	49
Radio/TV Ads	13	8	18	14
Seminars	25	10	24	61
Client Newsletters	20	3	17	62
Web Page	32	12	32	76
Listing in Legal Directory	48	31	52	74

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