Money · 1 of 5
What lawyers make
Typical
$159,670
Small firm or government
$78,360
Big firm or partner
$351,600
The national median is $159,670 a year, and the bottom tenth start near $78,360. This is the figure for all lawyers, not for real estate lawyers specifically, because the survey does not split them out. Residential closing work usually sits in the lower half of this range. Commercial property lawyers at large firms sit well above it.