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Here's some info from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Elsewhere on their site, they list the average lawyer salary at $107K, and the median at $91K, but exclude sole practitioners (and annual bonuses) from these figures.
"How much does this job pay?
"The middle half of all lawyers earned between $61,060 and $136,810 a year in 2002. The lowest-paid 10 percent earned less than $44,490. The highest-paid 10 percent earned more than $145,600 a year. The pay for lawyers depends on whom they work for. It also depends on how long they have been lawyers and on how many special things they have learned about the law. In general, lawyers are among the highest paid workers in the country.
"How many jobs are there?
"Lawyers held about 695,000 jobs in 2002. About 3 out of 4 lawyers practiced privately either in law firms or solo practices. Other lawyers worked for a wide range of private businesses and government agencies.
"What about the future?
"Employment of lawyers is expected to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations through 2012. This is because there will be more reasons for companies, persons, and governments to hire lawyers. But it is also true that a lot of people will try to become lawyers. This means that a person who wants to be a lawyer will have to work really hard to be one of those who get into law school. Graduates from law school will have to compete for good jobs also."
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