NPLA Pay Survey
The NPLA is excited to launch its inaugural Pay Survey. By bringing more transparency to pay in the plaintiffs’ bar, the NPLA hopes to make careers in the plaintiffs’ bar more accessible to more people, especially women, minorities, and members of other underrepresented groups.
To that end, the NPLA would greatly appreciate your participation in this anonymous survey. Results will be aggregated by geography and practice area before publication, and no attempt will be made to connect survey data back to individual attorneys or firms. As an added incentive for participating, NPLA will only share the results of this survey with attorneys who provide data.
The NPLA believes that pay data is important for the following reasons:
Law students graduate with an average of $100,000+ of debt and need to understand whether plaintiffs’ law is a viable option to pay off that debt
Transparency can help improve diversity in the plaintiffs’ bar
Many plaintiffs’ attorneys themselves do not feel like they understand what a “market” or “fair” salary or pay structure looks like, which prevents them from negotiating
Transparency also benefits law firms by helping them understand how their pay/benefit structures compare to those of other firms, allowing them to be more competitive and attract top talent.
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Unlike “BigLaw,” pay on the plaintiffs’ bar is opaque. Indeed, many students at our member schools believe that plaintiffs’ pay resembles non-profit pay. Thus, when law students graduate with an average of $130,000-worth of debt, pursuing defense-side work is not only the “easy” choice, but it also appears to be the only financially pragmatic choice.
Those of us who are part of NPLA already know that plaintiffs’ work can pay well, but we have largely gathered information from our own networks. We want to make this information accessible to any law student. We’ve seen first-hand how our efforts to publicize plaintiffs’ law as a legal career that combines righteous work with good pay has inspired so many students who previously had never heard of plaintiffs’ law.
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In a profession that represents and appeals to people of all backgrounds, the benefits of diversity are especially pronounced. But the statistics on diversity in the plaintiffs’ bar demonstrate room for improvement. For example, in MDLs from 2011 to 2016, only 16.5% of leadership positions went to women, and, from 2016-2019, only 9% to attorneys of color. See Dana Alvaré, Vying for Lead in the “Boys’ Club,” Understanding the Gender Gap in Multidistrict Litigation Appointments (2017); Majed Nachawati & Michael Gorwitz, Judges Should Foster Diversity in MDL Leader Appointments, LAW360 (June 14, 2021). And in 2018, the Washington State Association of Justice reported that attorneys who self-reported as black or of African American/African descent, made up just 1.3% of total membership.
One way to increase diversity in the plaintiffs’ bar is to provide pay transparency. Lack of transparency particularly hurts attorneys from underrepresented groups, who are less likely to be plugged into networks that share information about pay. Additionally, when salaries are not openly disclosed, pay gaps persist.
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Pay structures between plaintiffs’ firms can differ drastically, and the NPLA understands that many attorneys do not have a strong sense of what constitutes “market” or “fair” pay. Compiling pay data allows attorneys to make determinations about what constitutes a “fair” pay package, and empowers them to negotiate different pay structures.
Relatedly, the NPLA also understands that maternity and paternity leave practices are not standardized across the plaintiffs’ bar. Gathering data on leave policies helps all parents understand their range of options, and determine what accommodations are available for families.
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Pay transparency does not just benefit students and attorneys; it also benefits firms. The NPLA’s data will help firms understand where their pay fits within their geography and practice area, and aid firms’ efforts to attract top talent.
Additionally, inspiring more students to pursue plaintiffs’ work has positive knock-on effects that benefit the entire plaintiffs’ bar. Students have the power to change the perception of plaintiffs’ attorneys in their law school communities and beyond, serving as a powerful countervailing force to anti-plaintiff public opinion campaigns.