A great part of people's understanding of lawyers comes from film and television dramas or TV programs, such as legally blonde, The Golden Lawyer, The Devil's Advocate, Defender, Witness of the Whole People and Legal Report.
The image of lawyers created in film and television dramas can be summarized by several key words: thoughtful, logical, insightful about human nature, eloquent, tit-for-tat with prosecutors in court, and relying on "golden words and jade words" to protect the interests of criminal suspects and defendants to the maximum extent and reduce their punishment. Of course, lawyers will also get very objective remuneration through their work.
Art comes from life, but it is always "higher" than life.
So, how high is the lawyer's income? Is it like we imagined, making more money every day and making millions a year?
First, the income of domestic lawyers.
According to media reports and survey data, in recent years, the salary of practicing lawyers has generally shown an upward trend, surpassing most white-collar workers, and is known as the "platinum class".
In 20 17 years, the average annual income of lawyers was 654.38+ten thousand yuan, while the per capita disposable income of urban residents in China was 1 ten thousand yuan.
From 20 18 to 20 19, the average monthly income of lawyers is 9800 yuan, which is close to 10000 yuan. In 20 18, the per capita disposable income of urban residents was 10,000 yuan, and in 20 19, it was 10,000 yuan.
From 2020 to 20021year, the annual income of lawyers rose to more than 6.5438+0.5 million yuan. In the past two years, the per capita disposable income of urban residents was 10,000 yuan and 10,000 yuan respectively.
The so-called "no contrast, no harm". From the above data, we can clearly see that the annual income of lawyers is three to four times the per capita disposable income of urban residents.
However, this is only the national average. Specific to each region, due to the different degree of economic development, the market has different requirements for legal services, and the overall level of the lawyer industry is high or low, which leads to great differences in this figure. For example, according to the income data of the lawyer industry published by various regions:
The first place is Shanghai. In 2020, the number of lawyers in Shanghai is 3 1 1,679, the total income of the whole industry is 32 1 100 million yuan, and the per capita income is 1 0/10,000 yuan. At that time, the per capita income of Shanghai residents was 1 10,000 yuan.
The second place is Shenzhen. 202 1 the number of lawyers in Shenzhen 19206, the total income of the whole industry 1 200 million yuan, and the per capita income reached110,000 yuan. At that time, the per capita income of Shenzhen residents was 1 10,000 yuan.
The third place is Suzhou. In 20021,there were 6,627 lawyers in Suzhou, and the total income of the whole industry was close to 3.8 billion yuan, and the per capita income was close to 570,000 yuan. At that time, the per capita income of Suzhou residents was 1 ten thousand yuan.
Of course, this is only the statistics of per capita income. For every lawyer, this number is high or low, and even very different.
The status and income of lawyers are also pyramidal. The more they are at the top, the higher their income. The annual income of some top lawyers is calculated according to "10 million yuan", and it is possible that a lawsuit earns more than an ordinary person does for a lifetime. They are like "big stars" in the legal field, and the appearance fee is really beyond ordinary people's imagination.
As for the lawyers at the bottom of the pyramid, some people are busy with food and clothing because they are in the internship period, or their own abilities are limited, or their law firms are not well-known, or they work in economically underdeveloped areas, and they are generally at the level of the working class.
Second, the income of foreign lawyers in some countries.
Take the United States as an example. The current population of the United States is 1 100 million, with about 65.438+0.35 million lawyers, with an average of 65.438+0 lawyers for every 245 people. In America, many politicians are lawyers. Of the 46 presidents in the United States, 26 are lawyers. For example, Biden, the current president of the United States, once worked as a lawyer.
The average annual income of American lawyers is 6,543,800 USD, which is about 720,000 RMB according to the average exchange rate of USD to RMB in that year. This figure is nearly five times higher than the average annual income of lawyers in China, which is 6.5438+0.5 million yuan.
They mainly measure their income level by their work experience and ability. For example, a lawyer who has worked in a law firm for less than one year has an average annual income of 40,000 to 80,000 US dollars; Lawyers who have worked 1 to 4 years earn an average of $80,000 to $90,000 annually.
Take Japan as an example. In 2002 1 year, the average annual income of Japanese lawyers was about 9.45 million yen, which was about110,000 yuan according to the average exchange rate of Japanese yen against RMB in that year. In 202 1 year, the average annual income of full-time workers in Japan was about 240,000 RMB. Lawyers earn nearly twice as much as per capita income.
Take Hong Kong as an example. By the end of 2002 1, the total population of Hong Kong was110,000, with lawyers 108 12 and barristers 1585. According to media reports and related surveys, the average annual income of junior lawyers in Hong Kong is about 750,000 yuan, and that of government lawyers is about 900,000 yuan per month. Among them, the minimum wage of trainee lawyers is about 1 10,000 yuan, and it rises to 1 10,000 yuan in the second year.
Third, the prospect and "money way" of the lawyer industry.
With the deepening of the strategy of comprehensively governing the country according to law, the rule of law, the rule of law and administration according to law are promoted together, and the country ruled by law, the government ruled by law and the society ruled by law are integrated, and the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity is promoted on the track of the rule of law. The country and society have higher and higher demand for legal workers and legal professionals, both in quantity and quality.
China's population is about 1 0.40 billion. By the end of 2002 1 10,000, the number of lawyers in China was110,000, equivalent to1lawyer among 2,372 people, which is relatively low compared with developed countries and regions. According to the plan of the Ministry of Justice, by 2025, there will be 750,000 practicing lawyers in China! In other words, there is still a gap of about 200,000 people.
Therefore, the "legal professional qualification examination", which was particularly unpopular in the past, has become more and more popular in recent years, showing a trend of competitive incentives. The number of applicants this year has exceeded 800,000. In a previous article, the author specifically discussed this issue.
I remember that in Stephen Chow's movie Kung Fu, the protagonist's childhood wish was to be a doctor or a lawyer when he grew up. These two occupations are basically the most popular in economically developed places.
The profession of doctor is related to people's health. It is often said that the richer people are, the more afraid they are of death, and the richer people spend more money on medical care. After all, people are gone and the money is still there. That's the tragedy.
The profession of lawyer is related to people's rights and interests. The higher the level of rule of law, the closer the relationship between people's work and life and law. The law not only prohibits people from doing anything, but more importantly regulates what people should do, especially how to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests.
With their professional knowledge and skills, lawyers strive to safeguard people's legitimate rights and interests. People should be willing to spend more money to buy better and more professional services.
Therefore, it is foreseeable that the salary of lawyers should continue to show an upward trend.