Curious about what a car crash attorney in Eugene, OR earns? Learn about salary ranges, commissions, and what top attorneys make!
People say that it is impolite to ask how much money they make. I am sure someone somewhere had a good reason to endorse and implement that rule, but personally I think it has some negative consequences that should be considered. Sometimes I think an over-emphasis on not discussing pay in a work environment can lead to gross inequalities in pay. Whereas if we were able to talk about pay, people would have the knowledge to know what other options are available to them. With that in mind there are a couple ways to answer this question:
(1) Salary-Based Compensation
It is possible that the car crash attorney works on a salary. In that case they likely make between $45,000 a year and $120,000 a year, not including benefits (I use those numbers because they are the lowest salary, I am aware of and the highest salary I am aware of for car crash attorneys in the Eugene, Oregon area. It could very well be that my range is way off). The benefit to the attorney of this system is that they know how much they make and how to budget based on their expected pay. The downside is that it is a fixed number and not necessarily in the person’s financial interests to do this. Personally, I would only recommend this for someone in the first year or two of practice who is still learning the ropes and has not yet built a caseload.
(2) Salary Plus Commission
It is possible that the car crash attorney works on a salary plus commission. In this system the salary is a floor so the attorney can pay their bills and not be worried about not being able to pay rent if they don’t generate any money, but (at least in my office) because of the floor the commission rate is lower than it would be if the person only worked on a commission. There is some alignment in this system between the attorney and the organization (because the organization needs them to generate dollars sufficient to cover their salary and benefits), and there is a backstop to ensure that the person doesn’t feel pressure to settle a case for lower than what is in the clients best interests because they always have enough salary to pay their bills, even in a down month. I personally would recommend this for someone who is in year 3-5 of practice, has built their caseload, but still isn’t confident and consistent enough to be sure they will make it on a commission only. While this will always be dependent on how much money the person brings in (which is effected by how much they want to work, and how efficient they are with their work), as a range, car accident attorneys that have worked for me in the Eugene area have made between $120,000 and $175,000 a year.
(3) Commission-Only Pay
It is possible that the car crash attorney works on commission only. Here, the attorney takes home money only when they generate dollars (by getting verdicts or settlements in the bank for car collision cases). Because there is no risk to the organization needing to pay dollars it does not have, and because it aligns the financial interests of the attorney with the organization and the client, I like this system a lot. The caveat with this is that the attorney should be very experienced, with a full and built caseload and confidence that they will be able to make a paycheck. In my office the attorneys that work on commission only have historically taken home the most money (by a lot) and to put it in terms of dollars the range is $400,000 to $600,000 in a year.
Conclusion: Is It Worth It?
I hope that sheds some light on the pay of Eugene car accident attorneys and helps whoever might be reading this gain some knowledge that they find useful.
The high number that car crash attorneys can make on commission is just a percentage of the amount that they are giving back to their clients in the form of paid medical bills, property damage repair bills, and in many cases, a check directly into their bank accounts.
Contact a Eugene Car Crash Attorney
Call 541-HUNKING (that’s 541-486-5464) today if you were injured in a car accident in Oregon and let us help you maximize your settlement.