To help you make decisions, we`ve compiled a list of the best and worst cities for lawyers. Our study compared and evaluated 384 U.S. metropolitan areas based on annual salary, cost of living, and labor demand. Check out the interactive map below to see the median salaries of lawyers in various cities in the United States The average rent is less than $2,000, compared to other California cities. With its balanced economy, low crime rate and mild climate, Oxnard offers a high quality of life for professionals. Home to a respected Silicon Valley, San Jose is the second best city for lawyers, beating San Francisco with $207,130 for the highest median salary. The cost of living is also lower than in San Francisco, allowing for greater financial flexibility. However, it is behind San Francisco in terms of job demand, placing the city in second place. Boston`s lawyers benefit from being in the state capital, where there is a high demand for jobs. Its proximity to the city`s major financial, government and business centers also offers the opportunity to specialize in different types of rights – patent litigation, insurance litigation, and financial law, to name a few. For example, the best patent firms in large urban markets typically charge $700 or more per hour for their most experienced lawyers or more than $300 for new hires. (1) The full prosecution of a simple patent application – a simple invention without problems of patentability – amounts on average to more than $25,000 between preparation and grant. (2) Utah attorneys are able to sue patents at about half the cost, with rates well below the national average, while offering the same skills, attention, and experience that a client would expect from major New York firms.
Denver, one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. over the past decade, has also benefited from a growing customer base in the legal market. Denver`s legal population is also the third fastest growing in the country, according to a 2019 report. We analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Labor`s CareerOneStop to find out the average annual compensation of lawyers in different cities. These figures are from 2019. Although Santa Cruz is smaller, the performance of local businesses is just as impressive as in other major cities. Six of the city`s law firms have been awarded the title of “Law Firm of the Year” for their achievements in various areas of law: construction law, environmental law, oil and gas law, patent litigation, insurance law and financial services regulatory law. Santa Cruz offers not only an ideal living environment, but also a good learning environment for ambitious lawyers. A number of major international law firms have opened offices in Boston, including Ropes & Gray LLP, with a particularly high demand for lawyers specializing in life sciences and technology. While the median wage isn`t as high as in other major cities, the lower cost of living makes it an attractive prospect. The City of Angels is not only one of the best cities for the arts industry, but also the third best city for lawyers.
Proximity to the burgeoning entertainment industry increases potential opportunities to practice entertainment or media law. If you end up getting big clients like Netflix or Paramount Pictures, you could earn more than $180,000 as a senior entertainment lawyer. David Wilkinson of Wilkinson Finkbeiner: “I have five offices in five cities, but I`ve spent most of my time in San Diego and now in Boston. Both legal cultures are quite relaxed, and the lawyers I work with or against are regularly warm and easy to understand. In San Diego, it wasn`t unusual to regularly wear golf shirts to work, and our opposing attorney came to testify and other off-court events in very casual clothing. On the East Coast, it`s a bit more formal, and most lawyers dress in suits or whatever. Self-taught people will thrive on not being Fox, with challenging work and strong mentorship. Employees are proud of the company`s diversity and pro bono initiatives, such as the recently created Center for Racial Equality. In addition to real estate, patents, trademarks and financial work, the company is also justifiably proud of its litigation, healthcare and regulatory practices.
With more than 450 lawyers and fundamental strengths, the firm`s client list ranges from fortune 500 companies to trade associations. You may not be as familiar with this small Southern California town, but it has earned its place in the top 10 cities thanks to its low cost of living coupled with a relatively high median salary of $150,000. Salt Lake City, Utah, is unbeatable for patents, trademarks, and copyrights — and has the numbers to prove it. San Francisco tops the best city rankings for lawyers, with lawyers earning the second highest median salary of $168,990, which helps offset the high cost of living. Even first-year associate lawyers earn an average salary of $70,529, which is $6,000 more than the national average. After examining data from 374 towns and villages, these five cities showed their special hospitality to lawyers. It`s no surprise that they are all home to important governments and corporations. Thirty-four percent of lawyers working today work for private law firms. Now let`s take a look at the 10 cities at the end of this list. These small towns, scattered across the country, had lower median salaries as well as lower demand for jobs, making them less ideal for lawyers looking for career opportunities. In addition, San Jose is one of the best cities for lawyers of color to become partners, which increases the attractiveness of the city. For high-quality patents, trademarks, and copyrights at prices that don`t break the bank, Salt Lake City, Utah is the perfect place to start a search.
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with offices in the United States and four international cities, is a recognized name in the field of intellectual property, with nearly half of the firm`s lawyers practicing intellectual property law. Among the customers were well-known names such as Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines and Krispy Kreme. The firm also excels in the areas of business law, infrastructure and financial transactions, offering interesting and high-quality work to all those who work at Kilpatrick Townsend. To make a list of the best and worst cities for lawyers, we aggregated data from three different sources and compared cities using the following three metrics: Utah has not only more patent attorneys, but also patent attorneys in Salt Lake City who do more IP work. Utah generates more than its fair share of startups and growing companies. Three years in a row, Utah has won Forbes magazine`s highest ranking as “Best State for Business and Careers.” Utah offers an ideal environment for start-ups: a diversified economy and strong life sciences, information technology, aerospace, aeronautics, and other industrial clusters; World-class centers for medical and technical innovation; a reasonable tax environment; a young and educated workforce; and a high quality of life. These agile companies innovate quickly and generate IPs that need to be well protected at a reasonable cost. Salt Lake City`s legal market has adapted to this challenge. With the entire state of California expected to have an employment growth rate of 3.5%, there will also be a plethora of opportunities in small towns like Oxnard. The city`s growing commercial and real estate markets also offer opportunities to practice in these areas.
As the oldest BigLaw law firm in Texas, Baker Botts offers lawyers access to a variety of high-level legal work – the icing on the cake is that everything happens in a collegial environment that fosters true friendships and organic mentorship. Baker Botts is perhaps best known for its practice of energy and raw materials. The company ranks first in the Vault ranking for energy, oil and gas – and for good reason. The company has handled more than 3,700 such issues worldwide over the past decade and advises on issues related to oil, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, coal and renewable energy. The legal services market in Utah provides high-quality work at prices that few coastal firms can match. Nowhere is this difference more evident than in the case of intellectual property (IP). Utah ranks 8th for most patent attorneys and patent attorneys per capita, beating states like New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington and Colorado. Salt Lake City has more patent attorneys per capita than any other major metropolitan area outside of the DC region. (The data presented below.) In fact, there are more patent attorneys and agents in Salt Lake City, UT than in Montana, Nebraska, Hawaii, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska and Mississippi combined. (See footnotes 3 and 4.) The Big Apple attracts all kinds of professionals, including lawyers.
New York State has the highest concentration of lawyers compared to any other state, resulting in higher demand for the profession – nearly double the average national demand. The diversity of the population also makes New York one of the best cities for lawyers of color to become partners. Finnegan is known for his work in patent law – and his team of professionals has impressive technical experience in addition to his legal skills. The company is also known for its volunteer work in support of veterans. Finnegan takes training seriously, with extensive formal programs combined with a focus on mentoring.
