Female partners earned an average of $659,000 annually compared with an average of $949,000 for male partners, according to the latest survey of big-firm partners released on Wednesday by the legal search firm Major, Lindsey & Africa, the New York Times reported today. The survey, which queried 2,100 partners at law firms nationwide, found that average compensation for partners over all was $877,000, which was 22 percent higher than two years ago. “We asked partners to pinpoint the factors underlying the pay differences,” said Jeffrey A. Lowe, who heads Major, Lindsey’s law firm business, “and the No. 1 factor was origination,” or who receives credit for bringing a legal matter to the firm.
