Summary of 1982 Cba Economic Survey Results

• Publication year: 1983
• Pages: 741

12 Colo.Law. 741 Colorado Lawyer 1983.

1983, May, Pg. 741. Summary of 1982 CBA Economic Survey Results

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741

Vol. 12, No. 5, Pg. 741

Summary of 1982 CBA Economic Survey Results

Colorado lawyers had a median net income of $40,000 in 1982, according to the "1982 Survey of Colorado Lawyers." This survey has just been completed and turned over to the Colorado Bar Association by Applied Statistics Laboratory of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

CBA's Law Office Management Committee, which arranged the survey, is in the process of checking a few of the figures and their significance with the survey organization. The complete survey will be published in full in the next few months, either as a series in The Colorado Lawyer or as a separate booklet which would be distributed to all CBA members.

In the meantime, here are some of the highlights of the forty-three-page survey report:

I. INCOME

A. The 1982 median income of $40,000 was 55 percent higher than the median income in 1976 when the last economic survey was completed. However, because of increases in the cost of living, the rise in "real income" of Colorado lawyers has been negligible.

B. The breakdown of 1982 median income for different kinds of lawyers is as follows:

Partners: $66,000

Sole Practitioners: 30,000

Space Sharers: 34,000

Associates: 31,500

Corp. Lawyers: $45,000

Law Teachers: 39,500

Judges: 47,260

Govt. Lawyers: 32,000

The median is the middle value in the series. Half the numbers are higher and half lower than the median

C. Income breakdown by geographic location is shown in the map below. The figures show average net income figures rather than median.

D. Ten percent of Colorado lawyers received net incomes of $90,000 or more in 1982; 25 percent had incomes of $60,000 or more; and 10 percent had incomes below $20,000. Among partners, 10 percent had incomes of $130,000 or more.

II. SUPPLY AND DEMAND

A. Of their work, 62 percent of the lawyers said they had "all I can handle"; 24 percent said, "more than I prefer"; 14 percent said, "insufficient to keep busy."

B. Lawyers in non-urban counties east of the Divide and lawyers on the Western Slope appeared to be the busiest; lawyers in Larimer and Weld, the least busy.

C. In all areas, 54 percent said the number of lawyers in their communities was "too many," 44 percent said, "about right," and 2 percent said, "too few."

III....