Editing Lawyer (section)

==Compensation==
{{Main|Attorney's fee}}
[[File:Pieter Brueghel the Younger - Village Lawyer - WGA3633.jpg|thumb|Peasants paying for legal services with produce in ''The Village Lawyer'', {{Circa|1621}}, by [[Pieter Brueghel the Younger]]]]
In the United States, lawyers typically earn between $45,000 and $160,000 per year, although earnings vary by age, experience, and practice setting.<ref>United States Census Bureau, American Community Survey</ref><ref>United States Census Bureau, [https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-income-people.html Current Population Survey] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110070850/http://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-income-people.html |date=2017-01-10 }}</ref><ref>United States Department of Labor, [http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes231011.htm Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060507031120/http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes231011.htm |date=2006-05-07 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.law.du.edu/documents/directory/publications/sterling/AJD2.pdf |title=After the JD II |access-date=2016-07-26 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231930/http://www.law.du.edu/documents/directory/publications/sterling/AJD2.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Solo practitioners typically earn less than lawyers in corporate law firms but more than those working for state or local government.

Lawyers are paid for their work in a variety of ways. In private practice, they may work for an hourly fee according to a billable hour structure,<ref>Anderson, 111–112.</ref> a [[contingency fee]],<ref>Herbert M. Kritzer, ''Risks, Reputations, and Rewards: Contingency Fee Legal Practice in the United States'' (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004), 258–259. According to this source, contingency fees (or ''de facto'' equivalents) are allowed, as of 2004, in Canada, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, the Dominican Republic, Greece, France, Brazil, Japan, and the United States.</ref> or a lump sum payment. Normally, most lawyers negotiate a written fee agreement up front and may require a non-refundable [[advance payment|retainer]] in advance. Recent studies suggest that when lawyers charge a fixed fee rather than billing by the hour, they work less hard on behalf of clients, and clients get worse outcomes.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Schwall|first=Benjamin|date=2015-06-25|title=High-Powered Attorney Incentives: A Look at the New Indigent Defense System in South Carolina|ssrn=2623202|location=Rochester, NY|publisher=Social Science Research Network}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/site/amandayagan/research|title=Research – Amanda Y. Agan|website=sites.google.com|access-date=2016-05-06|archive-date=2016-09-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925014424/https://sites.google.com/site/amandayagan/research|url-status=live}}</ref>  In many countries there are fee-shifting arrangements by which the loser must pay the winner's fees and costs; the United States is the major exception,<ref>See ''Fleischmann Distilling Corp. v. Maier Brewing Co.'', {{ussc|386|714|1967}} (reviewing history of the American Rule).</ref> although in turn, its legislators have carved out many exceptions to the so-called "American Rule" of no fee shifting.

Lawyers working directly on the payroll of governments, nonprofits, and corporations usually earn a regular annual salary.<ref>Anderson, 120–121.</ref> In many countries, lawyers can also volunteer their labor in the service of worthy causes through an arrangement called ''[[pro bono publico|pro bono]]'' (short for ''pro bono publico'', "for the common good").<ref>Abel, ''American Lawyers'', 129–130.</ref> Traditionally such work was performed on behalf of the poor, but in some countries it has now expanded to many other causes such as [[environmental law]].

In some countries, there are [[legal aid]] lawyers who specialize in providing legal services to the indigent.<ref>Abel, ''American Lawyers'', 133.</ref><ref>Arthurs, 161; Murray, 342; Pérez-Perdomo, 392; Schuyt, 211; and Weisbrot, 288.</ref> France and Spain even have formal fee structures by which lawyers are compensated by the government for legal aid cases on a per-case basis.<ref>Boigeol, "The French Bar", 280; and Jene, 376.</ref> A similar system, though not as extensive or generous, operates in Australia, Canada, and [[South Africa]].<ref>{{cite web|title=We provide professional legal advice and representation to those who can't afford it.|url=http://www.legal-aid.co.za/|website=Legal Aid South Africa|access-date=16 February 2015|archive-date=23 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223134247/http://www.legal-aid.co.za/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In other countries, legal aid specialists are practically nonexistent. This may be because non-lawyers are allowed to provide such services; in both [[Italy]] and [[Belgium]], trade unions and political parties provide what can be characterized as legal aid services. Some legal aid in Belgium is also provided by young lawyer apprentices subsidized by local bar associations (known as the ''pro deo'' system), as well as consumer protection nonprofit organizations and Public Assistance Agencies subsidized by local governments.<ref>Huyse, 240–241.</ref> In Germany, mandatory fee structures have enabled widespread implementation of affordable [[legal expense insurance]].<ref>Blankenburg, 143.</ref>