5. Litigation Support Director
As technology changes the face of law practice, legal professionals with tech-savvy are climbing the salary ladder. Legal professionals in litigation support roles earn an average salary of $70,882, according to the latest salary survey by Litigation Support Today, while litigation support directors and managers can command salaries in excess of $200,000. Top-earners usually possess law degrees or advanced degrees in technology, business or finance.
Litigation support directors manage firm-wide litigation support activities, e-discovery initiatives and technology resources. As the demand for litigation support spirals upward and experienced litigation support personnel remains scarce, litigation support salaries are predicted to climb. The shrinking number of attorneys and the ever-increasing amount of work driven by e-discovery, cloud computing, document management and other technology needs have made litigation support directors valuable in the legal marketplace, forcing law firms to up the ante for top legal talent.
6. Law Firm Administrator
Law firm administrators or chief managing officers (CMO) oversee the business and administrative aspects of running a law firm. Their duties encompass the non-legal aspects of law practice such as financial management and reporting, business development, human resources, facilities management, technology, marketing and practice management.
Law firm administrators in large firms rake in the highest earnings. A recent survey of law firm CMO salaries in three major cities shows that the average salary for CMOs is $386,294 and the median salary is $375,000. CMO salaries in New York can reach as high as $750,000 while law firm administrator salaries in Washington, DC, soar to $650,000. Since law firm administrators typically work fewer hours than most big firm lawyers and since CMO positions require less education (most have only a bachelor's degree), this is a great career option for those seeking a lucrative job in the legal industry.
