UNHAPPY WITH $420,000 A YEARUNHAPPY WITH $420,000 A YEAR

Rorie M. Sherman Editor in Chief

Old school lawyers who focus on client estate plans earn the least, but are satisfied with their lots. New-fangled lawyers, who go so far as to take commissions on life insurance and fees for investment management, earn the most, and they too are happy. But those earning smack in the middle — lawyers who serve as their clients' principal point people because they provide a variety of consultative services — are dissatisfied with their compensation. And they plan to do something about it.

These are the findings of a telephone survey conducted in September 2003 by Prince & Associates in Redding, Conn., of 402 private client lawyers, all of whom are partners in their firms, have 10 years experience and derive ...