American Lawyer Survey Finds Up-And-Coming Attorneys Willing to Swap Salary for Free Time

Business Wire, Oct 1, 2004

NEW YORK -- The American Lawyer(R) reported today that, despite six-figure salaries, almost half of the law firm associates surveyed by the magazine would happily accept a 25 percent salary cut if their firms would reduce their hourly billing requirements by the same percentage. The poll, based on responses from more than 4,000 third and fourth-year associates at 181 large and mid-sized firms around the country, revealed that the average associate is expected to bill almost 38.8 hours per week to clients, but actually bills even more - 45.5 hours per week. The results of the 2004 Mid-Level Associate survey are featured in the October issue of the magazine, shipping today, and will be available on the Web at www.americanlawyer.com and www.law.com.

The survey also revealed that the average associate carried almost $65,000 in student debts from law school and that only 41 percent of the group felt that becoming a partner at their law firm was important to them. Three-quarters of the respondents, however, were satisfied enough with their firm that they would make the same choice again after law school, given the opportunity.

Associates in New York City continue to be the nation's top earners, with an average compensation of $173,000 in salary and bonus, followed by those in the San Francisco Bay area ($168,000) and Chicago ($163,000).

The October issue features the magazine's annual associate satisfaction rankings, which allow non-partners to anonymously evaluate their firms' workplace and management quality on a variety of dimensions.

The American Lawyer is the legal industry's leading monthly magazine. Read by partners at corporate law firms, in-house counsel, government lawyers, and litigators at firms of all sizes, its trailblazing features about attorneys and the work they do has led to 23 National Magazine Award nominations and five coveted awards for general excellence, essays and criticism, and single-topic issues. Earlier this year, The American Lawyer was named the winner of two 2004 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards. The magazine is published by American Lawyer Media, Inc. (ALM), the nation's leading legal journalism and information company.

Headquartered in New York City, ALM is a leading integrated media company, focused on the legal industry. ALM currently owns and publishes 35 national and regional legal magazines and newspapers, including The American Lawyer and The National Law Journal(R). ALM's Law.com is the Web's leading legal news and information network. ALM's other businesses include book, custom and newsletter publishing, court verdict and settlement reporting, production of legal trade shows and conferences, educational seminars and distribution of content related to the legal industry. ALM was formed by U.S. Equity Partners, L.P., a private equity fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP. More information on ALM, its business and services is available on the Web at www.americanlawyermedia.com.