The groundbreaking Law and Beyond study sheds light on what really happens to law students after graduation

Anyone planning to work at a large law firm should look carefully before they leap. While large corporate firms offer the type of work and compensation that smaller firms and governments generally can’t match, the reality is they can be a tough environment, according to sweeping new study of early-career lawyers.



The study, Law And Beyond: A National Study Of Canadian Law Graduates, surveyed 1,099 people across the country who were called to the Bar in 2010. The results provide a rare glimpse into the work life of early-career lawyers in a variety of settings.



First, the good news. On average, 80 per cent are extremely or moderately satisfied with their decision. The highest levels of satisfaction came from those working either for businesses or government; the lowest was from those at private firms. In fact, the study says, “the larger the firm the lower the satisfaction regarding work conditions,” which encompasses factors such as work-life balance, control over amount of work and how work is done.



As for the number of hours worked, the results show that recent grads at large firms (over 250 people) work the equivalent of one day more per week. While the 2010 calls average 53 hours, those at law firms worked 56 hours a week and those who worked at the largest firms averaged 60 hours, particularly if they work in markets like Halifax, Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton or Toronto. In contrast, early-career lawyers in the public sector reported working an average of 47 hours per week.



Private practice, especially large firms, is where salaries are highest, says Ronit Dinovitzer, an associate professor at University of Toronto and the study’s author. The 2010 calls working in law firms had median earnings of $80,000 — ranging from $60,000 for solo practitioners to $105,000 for those at large firms. Those in the public sector, meanwhile, averaged $70,000, with a median of $76,000 for those in local or provincial governments, compared to $69,300 for federal government lawyers.



Dinovitzer, who is also a faculty fellow at the American Bar Foundation, says the 2010 calls at large firms in Canada are earning less than their US counterparts. Data on the class of 2010 in the US indicate the median starting salary at large firms is US$130,000. “It was really interesting to me to see the difference when it comes to the large firms. Their earnings are not yet at what it was 10 years ago in the US.”



The news becomes even less encouraging for women who plan to work in large firms or in-house departments. Women called to the Bar in 2010 who are now working full time earned 93 per cent of men’s salaries with men’s median incomes $80,500, women $75,000. The largest disparity is in business, where male positions earned a median of $100,000 and women $79,000. In law firms, women were paid on average 91 per cent of their male colleagues.



Dinovitzer says, considering 41 per cent of lawyers across the country are women, she found the result somewhat shocking. “Maybe at the beginning, when women got to 50 per cent in law schools, we thought there was just a trickle-up problem. It’s just a matter of time,” she says. “But now we’ve had that time and it still hasn’t happened. And this is the new cohort.”



While the most significant salary gaps are seen in private practice and business, in government, salaries are close to par — and women actually out-earn men in non-governmental and public-education sectors. The highest median earnings, $90,000, were seen in Alberta; the lowest, $36,000, in New Brunswick.