We have all heard of outsourcing, right? When we generally think about the topic of outsourcing we think about call centers in India or manufacturing operations in China. What we don't think about is outsourcing certain professions to workers here in the U.S. that are willing to work for less. That is exactly what is happening now in many professional fields, including the legal field.
According to a New York Times article, larger law firms are starting to make a second tier of workers who are paid less for doing essentially the same work that the associates making higher salaries in the same firm do. Apparently these workers are willing to do the same amount of work for less ($50,000 - $60,000) knowing that they are not on track to become a partner. However, in addition to making less, the associates are also working less hours, which in turn makes the job at the big firm more appealing to people with families.
From the looks of this article, it seems that the entire legal market is in the midst of a pretty big change. As many lawyers know, the billing rates charged by law firms for associate work is excessive. However, such billing rates are generally high so that the law firm can compete in the market to get the best attorneys, who are making somewhere around $160,000 in the major markets (starting salary). Firms have apparently been very reluctant to lower starting salaries for fear of losing their great lawyers.
So now, to accommodate the economy and better serve their clients, it seems that some law firms are essentially outsourcing some of their work to lawyers who are willing to be lifetime associates and work for less. I believe that this will continue to drive down the salary for all attorney positions, which will continue to increase the burden that law school graduates face in paying back their debt. When are law schools going to recognize the decrease in starting attorney salaries and adjust their annual tuition to mirror that drop?
The legal market is in the midst of a serious change. It will be interesting to see where attorney salaries stand five years from now and whether there are tons of college graduates flocking to enter a profession with people that are willing to work for as little as $50,000 a year.
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