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Law School Class of 2007: A More Extreme Bi-Modal Salary Distribution

Paul Caron

I previously blogged (here and here) Bill Henderson’s posts (here and here) on the the bi-modal salary distribution pattern among newly-minted lawyers with salary data from the law school classes of 1991, 1996, 2000, and 2006.  Today, Bill reports, based on new NALP data, that the bi-modal salary distribution pattern is even more extreme with the Class of 2007:

Nalp_2007

Bill notes:

The sample is based on 23,337 law school graduates from the class of 2007 who reported salary information. Note, however, that 197 ABA-Accredited law schools graduated 43,518 students in 2007. … The median salary in the above distribution is $65,750; the mean is $86,396. …

On the normative front, I have a simple thesis: the bi-modal distribution is bad for students, bad for law firms, bad for clients, and bad for law schools. [When I showed the 2007 distribution to one law school dean, she shielded her eyes!]:

About the Author

Paul Caron Avatar
Paul Caron
Paul Caron was named Duane and Kelly Roberts Dean of Pepperdine University School of Law on June 1, 2017. Dean Caron joined the Pepperdine faculty in 2013 after serving as the Dorothy and Leonard Straus Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law in the spring semesters of 2010 through 2013. He served as Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development at Pepperdine in 2015-2017. Before coming to Pepperdine, he was Associate Dean of Faculty and Charles Hartsock Professor of Law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law.
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