Competition for Lawyers Pinches the Biggest Firms
The state's biggest law firms are caught up in a bidding war for top law-school graduates, and corporate clients will inevitably pick up part of the tab.</br></br>Salary inflation has reached such extremes that hundreds of wet-behind-the-ears lawyers in this state will gross $115,000 this year -- the same as the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court. Twenty-seven-year-old Trent McKenna, who started last year with the Houston office of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld L.L.P. at a base salary of $78,000, has already received raises of about $37,000. "It's not so much that we're 100% worth whatever salary," he says. "What's driving this is that we're a commodity that is more scarce than it used to be."</br></br>The root cause of the salary surge is the booming economy. In particular, dot-coms are competing for top legal talent by offering lucrative stock options. The biggest Texas law firms expect to shell out up to $12 million each in extra salaries this year.</br></br>That could have drastic consequences, and not just for the legal profession: In-coming lawyers will be asked to work more hours; partners at top firms may make less money; and big firms could lose clients to cheaper firms or in-house lawyers. Some worry that big law firms will cut back on pro bono services.</br></br>Debby Ackerman, associate general counsel for Southwest Airlines Co. in Dallas, says that while it's usually worth paying for top talent, her company might bring more work in-house if legal salaries keep rising. "If the rates go up again, clearly that would be too much pressure," she says.