The Average Salary of a Beginning Lawyer for the Government
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, or OPM, administers salaries for lawyers working as government employees. They use the General Schedule, or GS, table applicable to all government staff. This table divides wages into grades based on experience, education and promotion. Each grade is additionally divided into steps that grant incremental increases between grades.
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Entry-Level (Honors Program) Attorneys
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Recent law school graduates from honors programs can be hired at different grades, depending on their qualifications. For example, those with just a law degree start as a GS-11, step one, for an annual salary of $50,287. Those who also have one year of judicial clerkship, qualifying legal fellowship or one year of graduate law study enter at GS-12, with wages at $60,274 per year. Finally, those with two or three years of judicial clerkships, fellowships, graduate law degrees or any combination start at GS-13, step one, at $71,674 per year.
Experienced Attorneys
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Beginning attorneys for the government typically come from the ranks of experienced attorneys. Their wages are generally negotiated as part of the hiring process between the attorney and the hiring government component. Pay is based on the following amounts, but may actually be higher or lower. Those with up to one year of experience start at GS-11, with annual ranges from $50,287 at step one to $65,371 at step 10. Those with one or more years get $60,274 to $78,355 at GS-12; those with 1.5 years earn $71,674 to $93,175 at GS-13; those with 2.5 years make $84,697 to $110,104 at GS-14; attorneys with four or more years earn $99,628 to $129,517 at GS-15.
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Locality Pay
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Though many federal attorneys work in the District of Columbia, they can be assigned to any part of the country. Their wages must thus be adjusted to compensate for any cost of living differences based on a national average. For example, those working in D.C. get an adjustment of 24.22 percent. This puts a GS-11, step 1 salary at $62,467 per year, and a GS-14 range at $105,211 to $136,771. Those in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, get an adjustment of 16.37 percent. This turns a GS-11, step one salary into $58,519 per year, and gives GS-14 a range of $98,562 to $128,128.
Benefits
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Beginning lawyers for the government receive several benefits as part of their compensation. They have 13 days of vacation per year to start, which become 26 days after 15 years of service. Sick leave is granted at 13 days per year and accumulates indefinitely. Insurance includes life, long-term care, medical, dental and vision. Lawyers may request consideration for the Attorney Student Loan Repayment Program, which pays off loans but requires a three-year commitment to the Justice Department. A retirement plan combines pensions from a basic annuity, Social Security and the thrift savings plan.
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