The Average Salary for an Assistant District Attorney
An assistant district attorney (ADA) can be a victim's best friend and a criminal's worst nightmare. ADAs work under the direct supervision of a locality's district attorney (DA). ADAs represent the state's or federal government's interest in court proceedings. Since ADAs are employees of governments, their salary is regulated by public policy. The salary of an ADA varies according to experience, length of service, geographic location and the hiring entity.
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Average Salary
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SimplyHired.com lists the average salary for an ADA as $55,000. In comparison, PayScale.com reports that the national average salary for a DA falls between $50, 603 and $89,310 a year.
Location
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The salary for an ADA varies by location. As of May 2010, SimplyHired lists the average salary for an ADA working in Dallas, Texas, as $56,000. The average salary for an ADA working in Santa Clara, California, is $73,000. The average salaries for ADAs working in Washington, D.C., and Nashville, Tennessee, are $74,000 and $52,000 respectively. An ADA working in New York, New York, can expect to earn $64,000 annually. Salaries tend to vary within states as well.
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Experience
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The amount of experience needed to acquire an ADA position varies by location. In Philadelphia, the average starting salary for an ADA as of July 1, 2007, was $48,975. ADAs with more experience can earn more than $60,000 a year. In New York, most ADA positions are given to entry-level candidates. There is very little difference in salary for a newly graduated lawyer and a lawyer with more experience. In this location, new hires fresh from law school earn $53,500 while the starting salary for newly hired attorneys with more experience is $54,000.
Benefits
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Benefits significantly increase the amount of total compensation for ADAs. In many localities, an ADA is entitled to the same benefits as other city employees. In Philadelphia, ADA benefits include 11 paid holidays a year, a pension plan, sick leave, 20 paid vacation days, four annual leave days, and medical and life insurance. In New York, ADAs earn four weeks of annual paid leave in addition to the same health and pension benefits as other city employees.
Hiring Entity
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An assistant district attorney working at the federal level may earn more than an assistant district attorney working for a state entity. For example, a job listing on USAjobs.com lists the hiring salary for an U.S. assistant district attorney working for the U.S. Department of Justice as $50,894 on the low end of the pay scale and $134,792 on the high end. The higher end of the pay scale is reserved for ADAs with many years of experience.
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References
- PayScale.com: Salary Snapshot for District Attorney Jobs
- SimplyHired.com: Assistant District Attorney Salaries
- USAjobs.com: Executive Office US Attorney & Office of US Attorneys
- City of Philadelphia District Attorney's Office: Careers in Prosecution
- Queens District Attorney's Office: Assistant District Attorneys
Resources
- Photo Credit Man in suit with thumb up and paper in hand image by NatUlrich from Fotolia.com
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Comments
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Very much over paid on Tax dollars. Let a person do this job because they care about protecting society.
