Speaker 1: Where's the best place to get a job as a lawyer?
Speaker 1: Hey guys, and welcome back.
If you're new here, my name is Angela Vorpahl, of the Law Tribe Network.
Be sure to hit that subscribe button, tap that notification bell, so that you can get
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Speaker 1: Whether you're thinking about law school, or you're in law school, or you're
recently graduated looking for a job, it's important to know where to focus that job
search.
And of course one important factor in that job search is, how much money can you make?
But far less talked about is, how far can the money you make go, depending on where
you live?
So if you're interested in this insider information, then keep watching.
Speaker 1: Now to fully understand and appreciate this video, make sure you check out this previous
video on how much Big Law, law firms pay their entry level associates, and this video on
how much lawyers across the board make, and where the highest concentration of lawyers
are in the US.
Because we're going to be building on both of those videos in this one.
Speaker 1: So many law school graduates have the dream of financial freedom, of paying
off student loans, of having the dream life that you've worked so hard to get, and how
far your paycheck goes can play a really big role in getting you to where you want to be,
and getting you the life that you want to have.
And luckily NALP, or the National Association of Law Placement, came out with a buying power
index back in 2011 that compared a law firm associate's salary with the buying power of
that salary in 76 cities across the US.
To give you an example of how this works, take Palo Alto California's median reported
entry level law firm salary, which was $160000, just like New York's was back in 2011.
But Palo Alto's buying power index was much higher than New York's, because $160000 goes
a lot farther in Palo Alto than it does in New York.
Speaker 1: To take another example, like Dallas, Texas for example, their annual reported entry
level law firm salary was $135000.
So much less or $25000 less than New York's was, but the cost of living in Dallas is so
much lower that the buying power index was almost double New York's, because you can
get a whole lot more for $135000 in Dallas then you can get for $160000 in New York.
Speaker 1: And to give you guys the entire list, the top 10 cities by buying power in
2011, were Dallas, Texas, Wilmington, Delaware, Houston, Texas, Charlotte, North Carolina,
Los Angeles, California, Boston, Massachusetts, Costa Mesa, California, Washington DC, Nashville,
Tennessee, and Grand Rapids, Michigan.
And when this study came out in 2011 it was a huge deal, because New York had always been
seen as this most coveted, most prestigious, highest paying legal market in the country.
And for the first time it was obvious, and it was known that you can make the same amount
of money in other cities in the US, and that that money could go so much further than it
could if you had gotten a job in one of the traditionally large markets, like New York
City.
Speaker 1: And as you can imagine, the New York City associates did not feel awesome
about this, but it really did open the eyes of lawyers working in other cities to show
not only them, but law students that are coming up through the ranks, that you can make the
same salary, and that it could go even further, and have an even bigger impact on your life
working in one of the more regional, smaller markets.
Speaker 1: And fast forward to 2016 when NALP came out with the second buying power index
study, and it showed an updated shift in the markets, and I'm not just showing this to
you guys because I'm a proud Texas girl, and Texas cities are ranked numbers one, two,
and three on the list, which they totally are.
But I really want to show you guys some of these lesser known, more regional markets
that you may not have considered as potential job opportunities that really are a way that
you can make the same amount of money, or less money, but have it go just as far as
if you worked in one of the traditionally large markets, like New York or San Francisco,
or DC.
Speaker 2: Number one, Houston, Texas.
Number two, Dallas, Texas.
Number three, Austin, Texas.
Number four, Wilmington, Delaware.
Number five, Charlotte, North Carolina.
Number six, Chicago, Illinois.
Number seven, Atlanta, Georgia.
Number eight, Nashville, Tennessee.
Number nine, Roseland, New Jersey.
And number ten, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Speaker 1: So if you've watched all the videos in the job video series, then you now know
which cities pay their attorneys the most, which cities have the highest buying power
index to make that pay go the furthest, and which cities have the highest concentration
of lawyers, i.e. legal jobs.
And so I'm going to leave you guys with a study that put together all three of these
characteristics, to give you guys their take on what the top 10 US cities are to start
your legal career, and they might surprise you.
Speaker 2: Number ten, Richmond, Virginia.
Number nine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Number eight, Atlanta, Georgia.
Number seven, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Number six, Birmingham, Alabama.
Number five, Miami, Florida.
Number four, Chicago, Illinois.
Number three, Tallahassee, Florida.
Number two, Houston, Texas.
Number one, Washington DC.
Speaker 1: I hope you guys enjoyed the video.
If you did, give me a big thumbs up to let me know, comment below what city you're from,
or what city you're thinking of practicing in, and how it stacks up on the list.
I'd be really interested to know.
And of course, check out the description for all kinds of resources.
Including links to all of the articles that I mentioned in the video, and also a link
to the law tribe network to join, and become a part of a community of lawyers working to
build sustainable, and fulfilling legal careers.
I hope you guys have a wonderful week, and I'll see you in the next one.
Bye.