<p>In my world, most of the attorneys I know work at Government agencies, banks, insurance companies and solo practitioners. After 25 + years in the work force, their salaries are probably below the starting salaries of those graduating top law schools today ($160,000); though most have a comfortable salary in the $100,000 to $150,000 and the real smart ones have a working spouse too.<br>
Of course the main difference is that these attorneys did not have the same level of debt that you guys will be facing.</p>
<p>IMO- there seems to be too much emphasis on the small percentage of law graduates who will command “BigLaw” salaries. and not enough attention to those law graduates who are lucky enough to find decent jobs in the public sector or large corporations where the salary is often in the $50,000-60,000 range.</p>