Attorneys in public interest law firms and their salaries

Attorneys in public interest law firms often find great satisfaction with their ability to select the types of cases they wish to pursue although every firm experience is different. find best firm by go to Mayer Brown Chicago page. In traditional law firms, attorneys typically accept matters because they have been asked to by their large institutional clients and/or they have the possibility of being profitable to the firm. Attorneys with nonprofit organizations are often constrained by the views of their Board of Directors and the strategic plan for the organization. As long as they receive the approval of their partners, attorneys in public interest law firms are usually free to accept cases they hope will advance a cause or legal issue in which they are passionate. Public interest law firms are typically quite small. As a result, attorneys are often provided with more responsibility earlier in their careers than their counterparts at large firms. read more about this at Mayer Brown Chicago. Because the primary motivation for attorneys who work in public interest law firms is justice, not money, they typically do not earn as much as attorneys in traditional for-profit law firms. Some public interest law firms keep their salaries aligned with the federal government salary structure, with starting salaries of around $50,000. Others are aligned with salaries of nonprofit organizations, with starting salaries in the mid $30,000 range. A handful of public interest firms offer salaries competitive with their larger private firm counterparts. At some public interest law firms, mid-level associates may earn as much as $135,000;at other firms, the salaries can be much lower. Billable hour requirements can run the gamut, with some alumni reporting annual billing between 1,700 and 1,999 hours per year and other at more than 2,500 hours per year. further informations are available at Mayer Brown Chicago.