Legal Tender.

• Author: Becker, John
• Position: Law school graduates' salaries - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Handsome Salaries for Utah's New Law Grads

Promising prospects. That's what Utah's approximately 265 new law school graduates who pass the July Bar exam can look forward to as they enter the workforce this summer. Earning potential for new attorneys at Utah and Intermountain law firms looks favorable, even though skyrocketing salaries spiked by Silicon Valley and coastal firms have leveled.

"It's a fair market for the new graduates," says Stephen W. Owens, president of the Young Lawyers Division of the Utah State Bar, that represents 1,800 attorneys under age 36. His four-member firm, Epperson and Rencher, hired one associate last year and will hire another this year with an entering salary of $50,000 -- slightly lower than the average starting salary for local grads.

If last year's salaries are any indication of what to anticipate this year, Utah's newest barristers can expect handsome sums. Kristen Clayton, assistant dean for legal career services at University of Utah's College of Law, says the average salary for students entering practice last year was $54,619 at firms in the Intermountain area, and $70,230 on the West Coast. Some grads, however, started as low as $19,000, while others signed on for as much as $150,000. The average starting salary of U of U law grads in both private and public sectors was $55,261.

Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School reports its Class of 2000 had an average starting salary in private practice (nor location specific) of $73,958, with 45 percent of its graduates accepting positions in Utah. No West Coast or high/low salary figures were available from BYU. The average starting salary of BYU law grads in both private and public sectors was $65,388.

Utah and Western regional firms are expanding and hiring on a regular basis. During the last year, Salt Lake City's venerable law firm, Van Cott, Bagley, Cornwall & McCarthy, added 10 new lawyers to its 42-attorney office -- a combination of new associates and attorneys with three or four years of practice. It also added several "of counsel" lawyers (attorneys who practice at the firm but do not actively participate in the firm's management).

"I expect we will add five more (lawyers) this year, perhaps tipped toward those with some experience," says President and Managing Partner Robert M. Anderson. He says new associates will start at a minimum of $80,000 with bonus compensations based on performance. Grads looking for top dollars will find them...