Being Male, Going To Top Law School Holds Long Term Salary Benefits

Twelve years after passing the bar, lawyers who went to top 10 schools, made the highest grades, and were male were at a distinct salary advantage over their peers, one long-term study found. According to the “After the JD” study, which focused on about 3,000 responding lawyers who passed the bar in 2000, nearly one-fourth have moved into non-practicing careers. Women who responded to the survey were found to make, on average, just 80 percent the salary of their male peers. When it came to pay, going to a top-rated law school has made a significant difference: Survey participants who graduated from top 10 law schools and worked full time earned median pay of $73,500 more than those who went to Tier 4 schools. Of those who went to Tier 3 schools, grads with the highest GPAs had median pay more than $120,000 more than those with the lowest grades.