How to hire an attorney

How to hire an attorney, step by step

Here's a step-by-step attorney hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an attorney job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new attorney
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The attorney hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them an attorney to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire an attorney that fits the bill.

   This list presents attorney salaries for various positions.

   Type of Attorney	Description	Hourly rate
   Attorney	Lawyers advise and represent individuals, businesses, and government agencies on legal issues and disputes.	$33-82
   Law Clerk	Law clerks are employees in a legal firm who handle clerical tasks for the office. They handle the office's official phone lines, answering incoming calls, and making outgoing calls... Show more	$12-54
   Lawyer	A lawyer is a legal practitioner who specializes in understanding and interpreting laws and other legal matters. Their responsibilities revolve around providing legal counseling and advice, representing clients in different kinds of court proceedings, conducting research, collecting evidence, and coordinating with various experts... Show more	$30-100

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Litigation
   • Legal Research
   • Law Firm
   • Legal Issues
   • Legal Advice
   • Juris
   • Legal Services
   • Appeals
   • Trial Preparation
   • Real Estate Transactions
   • Intellectual Property
   • Probate
   • Arbitration
   • Civil Litigation

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage the death administration department with approximately thirty-five plus estates through trust administration, Medicaid estate recovery or probate.
   • Respond to subpoenas and pleadings in litigation and in regulatory inquiries and investigations involving corporate clients.
   • Represent employers before federal administrative agencies, including inspections, administrative litigation, court-enforcement actions and appeals.
   • Litigate personal injury, and general liability matters, worker's compensation, estate planning and litigation, environmental liability litigation.
   • Create and give a presentation regarding non- attorney ethics to division staff.
   • Comply with all agency policies and procedures, including those pertaining to ethics and integrity

   More attorney duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your attorney job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. An attorney can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, attorneys' average salary in arkansas is 54% less than in new york.
   • Seniority. Entry-level attorneys 60% less than senior-level attorneys.
   • Certifications. An attorney with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in an attorney's salary.

   Average attorney salary

   $109,476yearly

   $52.63 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level attorney salary

   $69,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 19, 2026

   Average attorney salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$131,713	$63
   2	California	$131,426	$63
   3	District of Columbia	$127,954	$62
   4	Massachusetts	$116,134	$56
   5	Virginia	$105,744	$51
   6	Arizona	$93,309	$45
   7	Colorado	$92,617	$45
   8	Illinois	$91,916	$44
   9	Maryland	$91,715	$44
   10	Texas	$91,119	$44
   11	Washington	$90,824	$44
   12	Nevada	$88,398	$43
   13	Oregon	$86,152	$41
   14	Georgia	$83,375	$40
   15	Pennsylvania	$83,048	$40
   16	Louisiana	$81,483	$39
   17	Minnesota	$79,969	$38
   18	Florida	$79,782	$38
   19	North Carolina	$78,608	$38
   20	Utah	$76,669	$37

   Average attorney salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Thompson Coburn	$238,940	$114.88
   2	Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner	$237,704	$114.28
   3	The Bar Association of San Francisco	$234,608	$112.79	1
   4	Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough	$230,729	$110.93	16
   5	Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld	$226,637	$108.96
   6	Haynes and Boone	$222,358	$106.90
   7	Reed Smith	$221,913	$106.69
   8	Vinson & Elkins	$218,287	$104.95
   9	Davis Wright Tremaine	$216,247	$103.96
   10	Hughes Hubbard & Reed	$215,418	$103.57	3
   11	Nossaman	$214,878	$103.31	1
   12	Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner	$214,285	$103.02
   13	Nixon Peabody	$210,293	$101.10
   14	alliantgroup	$207,900	$99.95
   15	Van Ness Feldman	$207,777	$99.89	2
   16	Simpson Thacher & Bartlett	$206,706	$99.38	6
   17	Snell & Wilmer	$206,440	$99.25	2
   18	Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman	$206,071	$99.07	3
   19	Manatt, Phelps & Phillips	$205,862	$98.97
   20	Boies Schiller Flexner	$204,835	$98.48

4. Writing an attorney job description

   An attorney job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of an attorney job description:

   Attorney job description example

   Entry level position designed to assist the Firm's Associates, Partners, Managing Discovery Attorney and Director of Litigation Resources in the management of data review, analysis and production for the Firm's litigation, antitrust, arbitration, enforcement, securities and bankruptcy practice areas.
   Supervisor:
   Managing Discovery Attorney Supervises:
   Supervise and provide guidance to litigation teams, project attorneys, paralegals, contract attorneys and other office personnel, depending on the needs of cases and/or assignments Please submit a cover letter and resume when applying. Responsibilities Manage all stages of discovery in a matter including, but not limited to, data preservation,
   data collection, data privacy issues, document review, productions, document preparation
   for depositions and interviews, privilege logs, and other post-production document use. Provide guidance and advice regarding best practices for discovery processes. Assist in responding to discovery requests and drafting ESI protocols, protective orders and
   review protocols. Conduct research into the industry that is the subject of the document request. Assist in developing plans and procedures for document collection, review and production,
   including discovery logs and process memoranda. Work with and, where appropriate, direct and train Firm personnel and contract attorneys in
   various e-discovery platforms and tools. Manage discovery vendors and work with our clients' discovery attorneys and IT personnel. Work with and stay informed about Discovery technology, including review platforms and
   TAR tools. Work with the US Litigation Technology Group. Work effectively with the Firm's global discovery groups in New York, Washington D.C. and
   Brussels. Review data for responsiveness and privilege in response to discovery requests. Assist the Firm in other matters not related to discovery when needed. Qualifications J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school and a member of the New York or District of Columbia Bar Prior experience in a litigation practice preferred, especially complex, multi-party litigation Effective oral and written communication skills Strong organizational skills, project management and technical skills, diplomacy and client
   services Demonstrated ability to collect data, establish facts, draw defensible conclusions, define
   problems, propose and effectuate solutions Extensive knowledge of Relativity and Concordance Ability to manage teams and work under pressure Experience working with discovery vendors Flexibility to work overtime (including weekends/holidays) as needed Adaptable to a hybrid work environment (New York/ Washington Office presence required)

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right attorney for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with attorneys they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit attorneys who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your attorney job on Zippia to find and recruit attorney candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit attorneys, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new attorney

   Once you've selected the best attorney candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new attorney. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire an attorney?