CNY solo attorneys among state's lowest paid

A survey of attorney compensation finds that lawyers in solo practice in Central New York are among the lowest paid in the state.

The survey, published in the New York State Bar Association's "The 2004 Desktop Reference on the Economics of Law Practice in New York State," found that the median

That's $45,000 a year less than this type of lawyer earns in the Rochester region. And it's half of what solo practitioners make in New York City, Long Island, or Westchester County.

Solo practitioners in Buffalo had the next lowest median pay, $67,500. That's still more than a third higher than their counterparts in Syracuse. Albany solo practitioners earned a reported $70,000 a year, while those who practice outside the region's major metropolitan areas had a median pay of about $80,000 a year.

George P. Alessio president of the Onondaga County Bar Association, and an attorney with a solo

practice in Syracuse -- says that the lower median pay in Central New York isn't shocking. "That doesn't surprise me."