For managing partners, firm administrators and office managers
Law firm compensation survey and law firm salary survey prices compared
A law firm compensation survey costs between nothing and about $2,500. The ALA Compensation and Benefits Survey, the one built for law firm staff, runs $400 to $1,050. NALP's associate salary survey is $195 to $300. Armanino's regional survey is $500 to $2,500, and PwC sells its reports only to firms that send in their own data.
Hiring a paralegal or a legal secretary before a survey arrives? Price the role for your metro on the right and get a band and a range you can paste into the posting today.
- P25
- $0
- P50 ยท Median
- $0
- P75
- $0
Suggested posted range
Built from public U.S. BLS OES wage data (May 2025 release), adjusted for market, seniority and company stage by the multipliers published in our methodology.
Get bands for your whole team
Get startedSolo to 10 lawyers
$0 to $1,050
Free recruiter tables and federal metro data for each hire, plus the ALA survey once you have three or more staff roles to price.
10 to 75 lawyers
$400 to $2,500
ALA for staff, NALP if you hire associates out of law school, Armanino if your office sits in one of its seven regions.
75 lawyers and up
Participation required
PwC BRASS and the Law Firm Statistical Survey, the ALA key staff bundle, and NALP for the associate class.
Which law firm salary survey to buy depends on who you are pricing
For staff pay at a firm under 75 lawyers, buy the ALA Compensation and Benefits Survey and fill in the questionnaire, which cuts a non-member's price from $1,050 to $775. Add NALP only if you hire associates in a class. Partner pay surveys describe Big Law and will not help a 15-lawyer firm set its own split.
Law firm pay data splits by who is being paid. Staff surveys (ALA, Armanino, PwC's administrative leaders report) price paralegals, legal secretaries, billing and accounting staff, IT and the firm administrator. Associate surveys (NALP, PwC BRASS) price lawyers by class year. Partner surveys (Major, Lindsey & Africa) price equity and income partners at the largest firms. Most small firms only need the first kind.
The samples matter more than the brand. NALP's 2025 associate survey had 437 respondents, and 87 percent of them were firms with more than 250 lawyers, so its headline $200,000 first-year salary describes Big Law. Major, Lindsey & Africa surveyed more than 1,700 partners, every one at an Am Law 200 firm. Neither is wrong. Each is just measuring a market most small firms do not hire in.
Quick guide
- One paralegal hire this month
- Local market data
- Pricing all staff roles
- ALA, $400 to $1,050
- Denver, NY, Philadelphia, CA office
- Armanino from $500
- Hiring a first-year class
- NALP, $195 to $300
- Billing rates and associate pay, 100+ lawyers
- PwC BRASS
- In-house legal department
- Empsight and ACC
Published prices from each publisher
Filling in the questionnaire is the biggest discount any law firm survey offers
Each bar runs from the cheapest route (member, participant) to the most expensive one for the same report. Scale $0 to $3,000. The free guides sit on the left edge.
Robert Half Legal Salary Guide 2027
Free online tables, recruiter data
Major, Lindsey & Africa Partner Survey 2024
Free download, Am Law 200 partners only
NALP U.S. Associate Salary Survey 2025
Participant pre-order $150, non-member print $300
ALA Compensation and Benefits Survey 2025
Member participant $400, non-member $1,050
ALA Large Firm Key Staff bundle 2025
Member participant $700, non-member $1,250
Armanino Law Firm Survey 2026 (regional)
Participant PDF $500, non-participant bundle $2,500
PwC BRASS (participants only)
2020 schedule, the last PwC published
PwC no longer publishes a current fee. The bar shows the last schedule on its own page, for comparison only.
Law firm salary survey prices and coverage by publisher
| Survey | Edition | Price | Who it prices | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALA Compensation and Benefits Survey | 2025 | $400 member participant, $550 member, $775 non-member participant, $1,050 non-member | Staff and administrative jobs, associate pay by experience, billable hour goals, benefits, by region, state and metro | Any firm setting staff pay. PDF only, more than 400 pages |
| ALA Large Firm Key Staff bundle | 2025 | $700 to $1,250 on the same four tiers | Standard survey plus director and C-suite administrative jobs | Firms of 100 or more lawyers. Not sold alone |
| NALP U.S. Associate Salary Survey | 2025, every two years | PDF $195 member, $250 non-member. Print and PDF $225 or $300. Participant pre-order $150 | Associate and summer associate salaries by firm size, region and 19 markets, plus staff attorneys and law clerks | Firms that hire associates by class year |
| Armanino Law Firm Compensation, Billing Rate and Benefits Survey | 2026 | Participant $500 PDF, $650 tool, $900 both. Non-participant $2,000, $2,250 or $2,500 | Up to 100 attorney and support roles, billing rates, billable hours, staffing ratios, PTO | Firms in Denver, New York, Philadelphia, Northern and Southern California, Puget Sound, St. Louis and Kansas City |
| PwC BRASS, LFSS and SAL | 2026 cycle | Current price not published. Participants only. 2020 schedule: BRASS $995 under 100 lawyers, $2,795 above | Billing rates, associate pay and bonus, firm economics, administrative leader pay | Larger firms willing to submit their own data |
| Major, Lindsey & Africa Partner Compensation Survey | 2024, every two years | Free with sign-up form | More than 1,700 Am Law 200 partners: pay, originations, rates, hours | Large firms and lateral partner moves |
| Robert Half Legal Salary Guide | 2027 guide | Free online | Recruiter ranges for law firm, in-house and legal support jobs by city. No sample size stated | A quick second opinion |
| NALA National Utilization and Compensation Report | 2024 | Free to NALA members. Non-member price not shown on the store | Paralegal pay, billing rates and duties by firm size and specialty | Paralegal-heavy practices |
| Empsight and ACC Law Department Survey | 2026 | Mid Market $995 ACC member, $1,200 non-member. Large Company $2,720 or $3,200 | In-house legal departments only | Not law firms. Listed because firms compete with it for paralegals |
Sources: alanet.org, nalp.org product pages, lawfirmsurvey.armanino.com, pwc.com law firm survey pages, info.mlaglobal.com, roberthalf.com, nala.org and empsight.com, each read on the publisher's own page. ALM's Survey of Law Firm Economics is left out because its product page no longer exists, and no current NFPA pay survey was found.
Law firms pay legal jobs slightly below market and support jobs well above it
This is the finding no survey vendor puts on its sales page. In May 2025, law firms paid paralegals, legal secretaries and lawyers a little less than the all-industry median for the same job, and paid bookkeepers, receptionists and administrative managers clearly more. Each bar shows the law firm median against the all-industry median for that occupation.
Law firms $57,660, all industries $50,670
Law firms $41,600, all industries $38,010
Law firms $120,370, all industries $114,130
Law firms $157,870, all industries $159,670
Law firms $54,900, all industries $55,570
Law firms $61,770, all industries $62,890
Your paralegals have options
Law firms employ 78 percent of US paralegals, yet in-house departments, insurers and government pay the job more. A firm losing paralegals to a corporate legal team is seeing the data, not bad luck. Our paralegal compensation plan guide turns these figures into a three-level pay scale.
Back office pay runs hot
Bookkeepers at law firms earn 13.8 percent above the all-industry median. Trust accounting and billing rules make the job harder than general bookkeeping, and the market prices that in. Benchmark them against other firms, not against the bookkeeper at the business next door.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, NAICS 541100 (legal services) and all industries, median annual wage. How we read and adjust this data is explained on our BLS salary data page.
Why one lawyer median tells a small firm almost nothing
Each row shows the 25th percentile, the median and the 75th percentile at law firms in May 2025. Support jobs sit in a tight band. Lawyers do not: the 75th percentile earns 124 percent more than the 25th, because a first-year in a small market and a senior associate in a large one are both counted as "lawyers."
Lawyers
448,040 jobs at law firms
$100,510 · $157,870 · $225,160 (124 percent from p25 to p75)
Administrative services managers
4,600 jobs at law firms
$95,690 · $120,370 · $176,380 (84 percent from p25 to p75)
Paralegals and legal assistants
304,820 jobs at law firms
$49,320 · $61,770 · $78,240 (59 percent from p25 to p75)
Legal secretaries
125,980 jobs at law firms
$43,880 · $54,900 · $73,150 (67 percent from p25 to p75)
This is why associate pay needs either a class-year survey or a metro-level figure, and why a national median pasted into a job ad invites trouble. Turning percentiles into grades with midpoints and overlap is covered on our salary structure page.
What three law firms would actually spend
4-lawyer estate planning firm, Ohio
Two paralegals and a receptionist, hiring one paralegal. No survey: federal metro data for the role plus the free Robert Half guide as a cross-check. Total $0 in surveys. The ALA report would price dozens of jobs this firm does not have.
18-lawyer litigation firm, Denver
ALA member, submits data: $400. Armanino Denver PDF as a participant: $500. Total $900. Skipping both questionnaires as a non-member would cost $3,050 for the same two reports.
45-lawyer firm, hires a class each fall
ALA non-member participant $775 plus NALP PDF for a non-member $250. Total $1,025 every other year, since NALP publishes every two years. In the off year the firm updates associate ranges from federal metro data.
If you are comparing these against surveys outside the legal market, the full list of national publishers is on salary survey providers, and the professional services comparison closest to a law firm's staffing is the architecture salary survey page.
Pay rules that decide how a law firm structures each job
Paralegals are usually non-exempt
29 CFR 541.301(e)(7) says paralegals generally do not qualify as learned professionals, because an advanced specialized degree is not a standard entry requirement. A salary does not change that. See exempt vs non-exempt.
Practicing lawyers have no salary test
29 CFR 541.304 exempts a licensed lawyer who is actually practicing law, and 541.304(d) removes the salary requirements. Other exempt staff, such as a firm administrator, still need the exempt salary threshold.
Billable hour bonuses go into overtime
A bonus promised for hitting an hours target is nondiscretionary under 29 CFR 778.211, so for a non-exempt paralegal it raises the regular rate. The FLSA overtime guide shows the arithmetic.
Associate ads need a range too
Colorado applies its posting law from the first employee, New York from four, California and Washington from 15. A lockstep scale makes the associate range easy to state. A merit system needs a real band.
State thresholds outrun the federal one
In 2026, an exempt office manager needs at least $70,304 in California and $80,168.40 in Washington, against $35,568 federally. Check the state before you salary a non-lawyer role.
Survey data is shared under antitrust rules
ALA sells its report as a PDF only and says it offers no Excel version because of antitrust concerns. Firms should not swap current pay figures directly with each other. The pay transparency laws by state cover what you must publish.
Four law firm jobs an annual survey prices too late
A survey arrives once a year and prices the jobs the publisher chose. Small firms hire on their own schedule. These are the four roles where firms most often need a number between editions:
- 1Paralegal, because turnover is constant and every posting in a covered state needs a range.
- 2Legal secretary or legal assistant, often the same job under two titles, so the job match decides the number.
- 3Billing and trust accounting staff, priced above general bookkeepers in the federal data.
- 4Office manager or firm administrator, where the exempt salary floor in your state sets the minimum.
WageList for law firms
Pick the role and the metro, get a band built on federal wage data with the source on every figure, and a posting-ready range in under a minute. No questionnaire, no deadline, no sales call.
Starter is $99 a month or $588 a year on the pricing page, less than a non-member ALA report.
Who buys law firm salary data and what they need from it
Managing partners at small firms
A defensible number for the next paralegal or associate hire, and a range for the ad. See WageList for small businesses.
Firm administrators
Running the ALA submission, then turning percentiles into a pay scale partners will approve. The compa-ratio calculator shows who sits where.
Office managers posting jobs
A range that meets the posting law in each state the firm hires in. Our guide to job posting salary ranges covers the wording.
Law firm compensation survey questions firms ask
How much does the ALA compensation survey cost?
The 2025 ALA Compensation and Benefits Survey costs $400 for a member that took part, $550 for a member that did not, $775 for a non-member that took part and $1,050 for a non-member that did not. It is sold as a PDF only, and ALA says it covers more than 200 firms answering for nearly 1,000 locations.
How much is the NALP associate salary survey?
The 2025 NALP U.S. Associate Salary Survey costs $250 for non-members and $195 for NALP members as a PDF, or $300 and $225 with the printed copy. Firms that took part could pre-order the PDF for $150. NALP runs the survey every two years, and the 2025 edition was released on May 28, 2025.
What is the best salary survey for a small law firm?
For staff pay at a firm under 50 lawyers, the ALA Compensation and Benefits Survey is the one built for the job, from $400 to $1,050. Firms in Denver, New York, Philadelphia, California, Puget Sound or St. Louis and Kansas City can add Armanino's regional survey. NALP and Major, Lindsey & Africa skew heavily toward large firms.
Can I buy the PwC BRASS survey without participating?
No. PwC sells BRASS, the Law Firm Statistical Survey and its senior administrative leaders report only to firms that submit their own data. It does not publish a current price. The last fee schedule on its page, from 2020, charged firms under 100 attorneys a $995 base fee for BRASS.
How much do paralegals at law firms make?
Paralegals and legal assistants at law firms earned a median of $61,770 in May 2025, with the middle half between $49,320 and $78,240, according to BLS. That is about 1.8 percent below the all-industry median for the job, because corporate legal departments and government pay paralegals slightly more.
Is the Major Lindsey & Africa partner compensation survey free?
Yes. The 2024 Major, Lindsey & Africa Partner Compensation Survey is a free download behind a short sign-up form. It surveyed more than 1,700 partners, all at Am Law 200 firms, so it describes Big Law partner pay and says little about partners at a 10 or 20 lawyer firm.
Are paralegals exempt from overtime at law firms?
Generally not. 29 CFR 541.301(e)(7) says paralegals and legal assistants usually do not qualify as exempt learned professionals, because an advanced specialized degree is not a standard entry requirement. Licensed lawyers practicing law are the reverse: 29 CFR 541.304 exempts them with no minimum salary at all.
Do law firms have to post salary ranges in job ads?
In states with posting laws, yes. Colorado applies from the first employee, New York from four and California and Washington from 15. A firm that posts associate, paralegal or legal secretary jobs in those states needs a good-faith range in each ad, so the range has to come from somewhere defensible.
Keep going
A three-level pay scale and the overtime rules for paralegals.
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