According to NALP (The Association for Legal Career Professionals), "[t]he median starting salary for new law school graduates from the Class of 2011 fell 5% from that for 2010 and has fallen nearly 17% just since 2009. The mean salary fell 6.5% compared with 2010, and since 2009 the mean has plunged almost 16% according to new research...The research also reveals that the median starting private practice salary fell over 18% from 2010 and since 2009 has fallen an astonishing 35%." More information on this huge downward trend can be found in NALP's extensive press release, which includes a chart showing mean (average) and median (middle) salaries for individuals and firm attorneys. Although the numbers are down a lot, the mean starting salary is $78,653, and the mean firm salary is $97,821. Comparable median figures are $60,000 and $85,000 respectively.
