Estate Planning Law Salary Overview
The average compensation for those engaged in estate planning law is around $100,000 to $125,000 per year, with lawyers in New York earning slightly more. This is right in line with the national average for all attorneys, who earned $115,820 per year in 2019, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Experienced estate lawyers at high-end firms can earn more than $150,000 per year.
Lawyers in New York, Houston, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Miami are among the most highly paid in their field. Houston lawyers earned an average salary of $126,850 per year, San Francisco lawyers $143,420, Atlanta lawyers $158,820, and New York lawyers $165,320. Lawyers in North Dakota earned the lowest average salary, at $90 , 810 per year.
Experience with high-net-worth individuals and the corresponding knowledge of their tax planning and reporting complexities come at a premium. As such, the most experienced estate and tax attorneys can command significantly higher salaries. Top estate attorneys can earn $300,000 or even more. Sure, going to law school represents an opportunity for geographic flexibility, and you can work almost anywhere.
By location, you’ll find that New York-based attorneys have the highest incomes, followed closely by lawyers in the District of Columbia, where average salaries are more than $140,000 per year. New Jersey, Virginia, Connecticut, and Utah also have average salaries in the six-figure range.
The Ingredients that Impact Estate Planning Law Salaries
An estate planning lawyer must have several traits that help navigate their clients on the best way to plan for the future. The lawyer will need to have an eye for detail, a good negotiating sense and the ability that research is routinely essential for writing wills and trusts. They must be able to stay abreast of shifting tax laws and financial strategies. Many estate planning lawyers specialize in areas of practice such as business tax law, asset protection, elder law, probates and trusts, and charitable gifting.
Several factors affect how much an estate planning lawyer makes. Just like any other type of lawyer, the number of years in practice can be important to the salary. The more experience the lawyer has, and the more specialized their skills are, the more they can earn. Those who are able to attract a larger client base also tend to earn more. For estate planning lawyers, this often means having a regularly updated newsletter that they distribute to their area, or they may offer educational seminars as a way of generating client interest.
A good percentage of estate planning lawyers work as solo practitioners, but those that work in larger firms have the opportunity to earn more. Once again, years of service and reputation can often run parallel. However, the location also affects salary. Those who are in larger cities can earn about $60,000 a year, which is less than the average pay of a lawyer in many other fields.
Salary Comparison: Estate Planning Law vs Other Legal Specialties
When you consider the type of law you want to practice, one of the obvious questions you will ask yourself is how much money you can realistically expect to make. After all, as most people know, going to law school is not exactly a cheap venture, and unless you come from a really solid financial position or have substantial savings, you will probably be taking out student loans to pay for it. So, being able to make a decent income right out of school would probably be a positive thing.
In general, estate planning lawyers tend to make between $66,000 and $125,500 per year, with the average salary being about $79,000 per year. This is actually a pretty decent income when you think about it, so if you have ever considered practicing in this area, you may want to re-consider.
Although some areas that fall under the estate planning umbrella are pretty lucrative—such as tax law—other areas, like basic estate planning, or will-writing, are not. Because of this, the range of salaries is fairly wide for estate lawyers, as those who focus their practice in a lucrative specialty are likely making substantially more than those who are not. Couple that with geographical location and market saturation and you have a pretty wide range of salaries.
If you compare the salaries of those in estate planning with other legal fields, we start to see a more balanced picture. For example, those who practice corporate law in large markets earn from about $74,000 to $106,000 per year. Family law tends to bring in slightly less than that, with an average income of $69,000 to $110,000 per year. Those working in criminal law earn an average annual income of between $57,000 and $135,000 per year, with those working for the federal government making a little more ($70,000 to $145,000). So, when comparing the various fields, estate planning is near the mid-range average, if not slightly above.
Estate Planning Law Promotion and Salary Growth
As an estate planning lawyer’s career progresses, there is significant earning potential, dependent, of course, on a variety of factors such as individual performance, prestige of the firm, quality of schools, and of course, the local economy. The first goal of an estate planning lawyer is to find a job in a good firm. Ideally, an associate will find a firm that pays by the book (National Association of Law Placement or NALP = $160,000) and has good lawyers who are willing to teach them. The next goal is to make partner. If all goes well, this takes about 5 years, and may even come with a salary increase of the associate’s base salary. At this point, the associate’s salary can be over $200,000, and can climb as high as $350,000 within a few years. With a reputation for being a good lawyer, the prospects for both a partnership and a salary increase in a decent or large firm are very good.
Afterwards, lawyers within firms typically have a few years to accomplish the goal of being recognized as "rainmakers," or lawyers capable of generating new business for the firm. Once an attorney has demonstrated an ability to bring in business to the firm, job security is excellent, and salary increases are guaranteed. At this point, many junior partners or equity partners will be able to demand salaries in the $350,000-$450,000 range.
To further enhance prospects for increased earnings, estate planning lawyers should consider obtaining one or more estate-planning designations. Most of these designations require passing a test and don’t have any additional educational requirements, so they can be reasonably accessible and more or less low-cost. Some common designations include the following:
Impact of Personal Reputation and Networking on Estate Planning Law Salaries
In the realm of estate planning law, reputation is paramount. Your professional network can make or break your career, and therefore, your salary. A strong and expansive network can increase your visibility to prospective clients and employers, thereby leading to higher compensation.
Networking extends far beyond attending legal conferences and industry events. While those are certainly good places to meet peers, clients, and referral sources, they are certainly not the only avenues for networking. To build a solid professional network, you must consistently provide value to the community, colleagues and clients. One of the best ways to do this is through thought leadership.
Contributing to legal publications, like LawyerBlog , is a great way to gain exposure. Writing articles on your topic of expertise helps establish you as an authority in the field. Hosting or appearing on educational workshops or webinars can also be a powerful way to make connections with clients and prospects alike. Among your law firm peers, you should seek out opportunities to profile your practice and results. Strive to be person offering the most value. Provide them with quality information that they can consume quickly and that will help them.
It’s also important to always maintain a positive reputation in the legal community. This doesn’t mean you can’t disagree with colleagues or show disagreement in the courtroom, it just means that you never act in a way that would damage your reputation or harm business relationships.
Networking may seem daunting at first, but if you keep an open mind and stay focused on providing value, you will find yourself reaping the rewards with greater compensation.
Skillful Salary Negotiation in Estate Planning Law
Negotiating salary is a critical issue for every estate planning lawyer. If you work in-house or for a firm, you will have to discuss salary levels with a partner or HR, and may not have any idea how they are calculated. If you are a sole practitioner, you have to set your own salary based on the amount of work you have, and how much you want to make in the year. In both cases, you will likely be very unhappy if you think that you are underpaid for your services.
Here are some tips for you in negotiating salaries for estate planning law jobs:
1. Educate Yourself About Salary for Your Particular Region; Most Salaries are Considerably Below What the Law Requires
The Department of Labor uses a nationwide scale for set salaries and wage rates that is a good baseline start for nearly everyone. Ways to research individual local rates include the Census Bureau survey of American households, the Bureau of Labor Statistics State & Metropolitan Area Data Series, and the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey. The data from the BLS paint a bleak picture for most lawyers, especially in states in the south, where the median hourly rate is just $23.30 on average. In mid-sized cities in the U. S., the average attorney hourly wage is nearly identical to what it is for secretaries ($22.11). PayScale has a list of average hourly rates for lawyers by region that is pretty useful, although it does seem to be built on a small data sample, and so should be read with caution. Overall, a good baseline for a single lawyer practicing in an independent firm is about $70 an hour. The bottom line is that most salaries are under what the federal government dictates must be paid to renewable energy lawyers in this country. You will need to simply tighten your grip and not internalize the fact that you are making an objectively low salary compared to what you earned in other careers or what similar professions earn.
2. Always Ask an Open-Ended Question
Whenever you talk about salary with an employer, use an open-ended question like this: "What is the salary associated with this position?" That way they are forced to give you a number. Using a closed-ended question, like "Is the salary at least $100,000 a year?" can result in hostility, as the employer believes you are pushing them into a corner. Calling attention to the fact that your salary expectations are higher than what the market average dictates can also produce the same result.
3. Don’t Mention What You Made in Your Past Position Without Context
Having a number in mind is certainly useful when negotiating, but telling an employer or current employer what you used to make when you were employed elsewhere is usually a huge mistake. This lets the employer tell you that you should be satisfied with making the same amount you made in the past at your current job. Instead, focus on what you are looking for moving forward, and why you think that rate is justified.
4. When Negotiating Salary, Be Willing to Highlight Unique Skills or Experiences
If you have had significant experience as a sole practitioner, the employer may not be aware of that experience, and so may be inclined to pay less for you than they would for a less experienced attorney. When negotiating salary or discussing pay with prospective clients, focus on the positive experiences you have had that give you a sound understanding of their needs.
Forthcoming Trends in Estate Planning Law Salaries
While salary trends in the estate planning field tend to be incremental, there are some possible future trends that could have a distinct effect on estate planning salaries. For example, the cost of living will continue to rise in big cities like New York City, San Francisco, Chicago and Boston and pressure on district attorneys and other officials to increase revenues may result in an increase in the federal estate tax rate.
More parents are establishing family limited partnerships and inter-vivos trusts for their children and grandchildren and are gifting annual exclusion gifts to them, which is driving the need for these parents to have estate planning documents prepared. Grantees of gifts. The demand for technology skills and knowledge may force out some older estate planning attorneys in favor of younger practitioners. For example, estate tax clients are becoming more sophisticated in their understanding of modern financial and estate planning issues. This is due to the wealth creation and distribution explosion in recent decades. Many in-house estate planners must rely on their counterparts in law firms to stay current on developments in a constantly evolving, highly technical area of the law.
Moreover, estate planning concepts have changed dramatically to meet the reality of a worldwide economy and US residents’ ubiquity in living abroad to pursue business opportunities. Customers who can afford it expect to be able to do business by email with their lawyers. This trend, combined with standardization of sophisticated legal work, may cause a shift to a "virtual" law practice . This trend already has begun to develop with "do it yourself" estate planning products that customers can buy over the Internet, which allows for law firms to reduce the number of face to face meetings required. While these financial industry offerings tend to be more successful in the area of will preparation, because relatively simple wills do not require much interaction between preparer and customer, trust preparation services have yet to make substantial inroads. However, as the next wave of wealthy clients are children of "baby boomers" whose expectations have been formed by technology, their expectations and habits may change the way estate planning services are delivered over the next decade.
More people than ever use internet based services or products. Employers are now recognizing the value of having employees telecommute, which should result in a number of office space vacancies. This combination of factors will make it easier for a practitioner to operate a more flexible and less expensive practice model.
The internationalization of the world’s economy is also leading to a pressure from accounting firms to have accountants be more involved in the estate and trust planning process because an accountant is likely to have more of the basic international tax knowledge that is needed in today’s complex environment. To add another layer of complexity, a lawyer must be knowledgeable to advise a client regarding their tax planning needs in multiple countries. The complexity of this area is steadily increasing.