Lawyers Need To Be Perfectly Pedigreed To Earn Top In-House Pay

Lawyers who dream of someday going in-house need to know that their legal pedigree -- their law school alma mater and the law firms they've worked for -- will follow them throughout their careers, affecting even their future in-house earning power.

According to a new report from recruiting firm BarkerGilmore, those who went to a Top 50 law school earn an average of 30% more than those who attended law schools ranked 100 or lower, while those who went to a Top 50 law school and also worked at an Am Law 50 law firm, earned 76% more than those who didn't.

Corporate Counsel has some additional details:

Beyond highlighting big-picture trends, including that companies pulled back on bonuses last year, the study took a rare look at the extent to which the pedigree of law schools and law firms shape in-house pay.

A general counsel who went to a Top 50 law school received $650,000 in compensation last year, as opposed to $511,000 for general counsel who attended a school ranked between 51-100, and $455,00 for general counsel who attended law school ranked below 100, the report found.

That's a 43% difference between the highest- and lowest-ranked schools. The disparity was narrower for managing counsel and senior counsel--25% and 22%, respectively.

Credentials can be costly, according to BakerGilmore founding partner John Gilmore. "If you're going to hire a lawyer that can check both boxes, they come at a premium," he told Corporate Counsel. "As much as people say it is a soft market, it's still not easy. It's not like these highly credentialed lawyers are in abundance. They're not. Companies are being more selective than ever and they're definitely credential-minded."

Study Reveals How Pedigree of Law Schools, Law Firms Influence In-House Pay [Corporate Counsel]

Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she's worked since 2011. She'd love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.