Around the Firms

According to Texas Lawyer, Texas firms' salaries did not have much of an increase on average for the second consecutive year. The information was displayed in the Texas publication's annual Salary & Billing Survey, to which 46 firms responded. Paralegals, personnel managers, and associates all faced meager increases. The economy seems to be behind this, as Cox and Smith's executive director, George Casbeer, states. The officer of the 91-attorney firm in San Antonio said that salaries and billing have been level because of the current financial times. Charles Post, the CEO of Houston's Susman Godfrey, concurs, explaining that associate salaries at his firm have not been changed for several years and that even in the case of staff positions that hold a higher demand, such as information technology employees, moderate increases are given. However, legal secretaries with 1 to 3 years' experience and who are employed at firms with anywhere from 50 to 99 lawyers have had a significant salary increase (20.4%). One reason for this, according to one respondent, is that salaries were below market rates for this rank and that there needed to be a weighty raise.

Although Houston's Hobbs Consulting President William Cobb says that attrition rates are behind the moderate raises ' with layoffs decreasing employers' concern to increase compensation ' Post stressed that lasting prosperity in firms can be achieved from long-term commitment. Also, there are other costs, such as technology and training, that cannot be avoided and could have either a positive or negative effect on the number of personnel. What's more, management strategies at firms have increased in complexity – and this is something that cannot fluctuate with the economy. With increases in rates, corporations have begun to put firms in a position of competing against one another for business, using buying power to reduce rates.