How do lawyers make so much money?

Question

I know a lot of you make think this is a dumb question but I'm going to ask it anyway. I know lawyers charge a lot for different services but don't they use that money to pay for court costs, paying assistants, filing fees, recording fees, etc...? Do lawyers make money off of small cases or is it the big lawsuits that rack in the dough?

Btw, I'm not trying to bash lawyers at all.

Answer 1

It's a matter of volume. A personal injury attorney, for example, might have 100 cases or so, and can expect to win or settle at least 80% of them. Even if each case takes between six months and three years to complete, the attorney generally takes a third fee of the recovery from the case. At that rate, they tend to make a pretty good living, even after paying secretarial staff and overhead. Most cases never make it to the jury - it takes too much time, and most parties would rather have a reasonable settlement quickly, on both sides of the issue.
Some attorneys really don't make much money, though. Some work for legal aid organizations that don't pay much, and others take a lot of pro bono (free) cases from which they don't make any money. That's the attorney's way of "giving back".

Answer 2

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Answer 3

How Do Lawyers Make Money

Answer 4

For the most part, they really don't make that much money. I do the financials on plenty of lawyers and most of them are 80-110k a year. If this sounds like a lot to you, sorry I didn't mean to belittle anyone's income bracket but for the most part, unless you're making 600k + a year, I wouldn't say you where wealthy by way of income.

Lawyers make a lot of thier money on winning settlements and taking upfront retainer fees. They can get a ton of retainers (Criminal attorneys) and not have to worry about winning the case. I've ran into my fair share of lawyers who where willing to take my money and just plea the case becuase there is a lot less work involved.

Answer 5

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As you asked; "I know a lot of you make think this is a dumb question but I'm going to ask it anyway. I know lawyers charge a lot for different services but don't they use that money to pay for court costs, paying assistants, filing fees, recording fees, etc...? Do lawyers make money off of small cases or is it the big lawsuits that rack in the dough? Btw, I'm not trying to bash lawyers at all." I hope it might help you.

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Answer 6

Depends on the type of attorney.

Real estate lawyers make lots of money on title insurance and other services above and beyond the regular closing.

Personal injury attornies make their money on case volume - more cases = more settlements.

Trial lawyers get a piece of any settlement - so if they win a class-action suit with a $1 billion settlement, they make hundreds of millions of dollars for their firm - which in turn rewards them with a hefty bonus.

Attornies typically charge enough fees to more than recover their overhead costs.

Answer 7

Lawyers make money the same way that plumbers and car mechanics make money; they charge for their time. Their overhead might be higher but their rates are also higher. But the lawyers who make the most money are the ones who charge a contingent fee (percentage), and who are successful in winning big verdicts or settlements.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

Go 3 years past college.

Who is going to pay for 7 years of college/law school when earnings were zero?

Answer 10

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