Despite reported big hikes in pay for first-year associates in law firms in markets such as Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York, attorneys here are seeing more moderate salary bumps, Gonzaga University School of Law Dean Earl Martin says.


While Spokane-area firms here have been increasing their salaries, they tend to emphasize the Inland Northwests quality of life rather than just pay when recruiting law school graduates, Martin says.


Spokane is a much different legal market; the salary structures are different, Martin says. Theres a steady rise in salary, but its not as dramatic.


In Seattle, some large firms now are paying first-year associates nearly $150,000, according to a recent story published by the Puget Sound Business Journal.


While that pay level isnt the norm there, many of the Seattle areas largest firms have boosted entry-level pay this year by at least $10,000, resulting in a salary range between $100,000 and $140,000 the newspaper reported. In comparison, more than two dozen big firms in New York have increased their first-year pay to $160,000, up from about $145,000, it said.


Efforts to reach officials at several of Spokanes largest law firms for comment on pay for this story were unsuccessful.


First-year pay is watched closely by firms, law schools, and graduates, because its considered an indication of demand for legal services, as well as the strength of a particular law firm, Martin says.


When one firm bumps its pay significantly, other firms in that market tend to follow suit.


Pay has always been a means by which firms recruit the graduates they want, he says. If they want to remain competitive, than they have to have a competitive salary; one firm can pull everybody else upward.


Private firms that handle high volumes of corporate legal work generally pay the highest first-year salaries for attorneys, but there are many exceptions to that rule, Martin says.


Although starting pay might be lower here than in larger markets, the billable hours requirements among firms in Spokane typically are lower as well, which can also be a recruiting tool, Martin says.


They still must work hard, but the pace is a little slower than Seattle, Los Angeles, or San Francisco, he says.


In the Pacific Northwest, first-year associates often work between 1,800 and 1,900 billable hours a year, compared with 2,200 and 2,300 billable hours typically required at big firms in New York, the Puget Sound Business Journal says.


Contact Emily Brandler at (509) 344-1265 or via e-mail at emilyb@spokanejournal.com.