Law Professor Salaries and the Legal Profession

My understanding is that faculty salaries and related benefits take up a sizable chunk of most law school budgets and are, at least in part, responsible for the high tuition rates that limit the kinds of jobs that graduates can accept.  So with that in mind, here's a link to the Society of American Law Teachers 2007 Faculty Salary Survey.

For people who come to this blog from outside of academia, I'm curious as to how the numbers strike you.  Do they sound high?  Low?  Appropriate?  (For what it's worth, faculty frequently take advantage of summer stipends that often add about 10% or more to the compensation numbers reported in the survey.)

Interestingly, the new Survey includes Harvard, a school that I do not believe has reported its numbers in recent years.  Harvard reports their median assistant professor salary to be about $129,000.  By contrast, Michigan is at $143,000, and it's a heck of a lot cheaper to live in Ann Arbor than in Cambridge.  (Harvard certainly overcomes the difference post-tenure, providing a median salary of a whopping $241,000, a number that is well above all but the most elite schools.) 

Obviously, nobody goes into law teaching for the money (most of us could make a lot more in private practice), but the numbers are interesting nevertheless.  Any reactions?

Comments

[ploin]

Those don't strike me as high numbers for smart, talented people. OTOH, they are much higher than humanities prof salaries. I assume that's because the law profs are tagging along on the lawyers' professional monopoly. If I could soak my employer for high salaries and pass on the costs to my students, I would do it too. Well played, law professor guys!

[Analyst Salary]

I think the high salaries for the law professors is really very important because the job is all about not only delivering quality also to produce quality lawyers. I even feel the figures might still climb up.

Thanks
Ashwell prince