What percentage do personal injury associates get?
Most often 5 percent of the attorney fee on cases you work. On cases you originate, around 25 percent. We have less data on origination, so treat that one as rough. The table has the full ranges.
The most common setup has no formula at all. It is a base plus a discretionary bonus. Some firms tier the share, 10 to 15 percent with volume. Other models pay nothing until the associate generates $750,000 in fees, then 5 percent on collections after that. Some firms pay exactly 5 and 25 percent.
Coming over from defense? Read about leaving insurance defense for plaintiff work first.
Florida cap: Rule 4-1.5(f)(4) allows up to 33 1/3% of a recovery up to $1 million before an answer and 40% after an answer is filed. Fees above the schedule are presumed clearly excessive unless a court approves them. Settle a case for $300,000 after an answer and the firm fee can be up to $120,000. A 5 percent worked share of that is $6,000. A 25 percent originated share is $30,000.
These numbers come from our intake and interview notes through September 2026. Mostly attorneys at mid-size and regional firms in Florida, Texas, Georgia and California. It isn't a survey.
Three things I'd ask the firm. Is the share figured on the gross fee or the fee net of costs? When does it pay? Do you keep it on cases that resolve after you leave?
- Cases worked5%3% to 12.5%
- Cases originated25%7% to 40%
- Base salary plus discretionary bonus
- How common
- Most common pattern
- Typical range
- No stated formula tying pay to results
- Percent of the fee, cases worked
- How common
- Common
- Typical range
- 3% to 12.5% of the fee, most often 5%
- Percent of the fee, cases originated
- How common
- Less common, thinner data
- Typical range
- 7% to 40% of the fee, around 25% typical
- Tiered plans
- How common
- Occasional
- Typical range
- Percentage rises after a fee or volume threshold
| Pay model | How common | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary plus discretionary bonus | Most common pattern | No stated formula tying pay to results |
| Percent of the fee, cases worked | Common | 3% to 12.5% of the fee, most often 5% |
| Percent of the fee, cases originated | Less common, thinner data | 7% to 40% of the fee, around 25% typical |
| Tiered plans | Occasional | Percentage rises after a fee or volume threshold |
How does personal injury associate base salary change with experience?
$120,000 at 1 to 2 years and $180,000 at 15-plus. The table has the bands in between. The biggest step is from 3 to 4 years to 5 to 7. Other practices are in our associate pay by practice area data.
What candidates ask for runs a little differently. At 0 to 2 years the median ask is $130,000, above what firms typically pay. At 3 to 5 years it drops to $125,000, with a wide spread from $100,000 to $150,000. Candidates at 6 to 9 years ask for a median of $153,000. At 10 or more years the median ask is $188,000, and the middle half runs $150,000 to $250,000.
By state, Florida candidates ask for a median $135,000 base. Georgia is $145,000, Texas $150,000 and California $193,000. Base is only part of the pay in PI. Two associates on the same base can finish the year far apart once the fee split pays.
- 1 to 2$120,000
- 3 to 4$125,000
- 5 to 7$150,000
- 8 to 14$170,000
- 15+$180,000
| Years of experience | ITG typical base |
|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | $120,000 |
| 3 to 4 | $125,000 |
| 5 to 7 | $150,000 |
| 8 to 14 | $170,000 |
| 15+ | $180,000 |
What do personal injury associates earn in total?
$125,000 to $400,000 in the examples from our notes, and the table has all six. The biggest bonus in there is a Florida attorney with 10-plus years, about $200,000 on a $200,000 base.
The largest variable pay is at 10 or more years. One Texas attorney with over 15 years has a $175,000 base, then 5 percent on worked cases and 25 percent on originated.
Discretionary bonuses swing. One mid-career associate's bonus roughly quadrupled over four years with nothing in writing behind it. The partners decided the number each year. Is your bonus formula in writing? That is the first thing I'd ask.
- 0 to 2 yrs
- State
- Mountain West
- Base
- $145,000
- Variable pay
- about $40,000 expected
- 3 to 5 yrs
- State
- TX
- Base
- $140,000
- Variable pay
- about $65,000
- 6 to 9 yrs
- State
- New England
- Base
- $115,000
- Variable pay
- $10,000
- 10+ yrs
- State
- FL
- Base
- $200,000
- Variable pay
- about $200,000
- 10+ yrs (mixed defense and plaintiff role)
- State
- TX
- Base
- $170,000
- Variable pay
- about $100,000
- 15+ yrs
- State
- TX
- Base
- $175,000
- Variable pay
- 5% worked, 25% originated fee share
| Experience | State | Base | Variable pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 2 yrs | Mountain West | $145,000 | about $40,000 expected |
| 3 to 5 yrs | TX | $140,000 | about $65,000 |
| 6 to 9 yrs | New England | $115,000 | $10,000 |
| 10+ yrs | FL | $200,000 | about $200,000 |
| 10+ yrs (mixed defense and plaintiff role) | TX | $170,000 | about $100,000 |
| 15+ yrs | TX | $175,000 | 5% worked, 25% originated fee share |
How big are caseloads, and when do fee shares pay?
20 to 60 open files on a litigation desk. 150 or more on a pre-suit volume desk, and one attorney in our notes carried several hundred active pre-suit matters. The attorneys above 150 files complained about those dockets, and some left over it.
Pure contingency plaintiff roles often have no billable quota. The roles that do usually carry some defense work. There the median is 1,920 hours in our insurance defense billable data, with most quotas between 1,900 and 2,099 and an upper tier above 2,300.
Fee shares pay per settlement, monthly, quarterly or at year end. Per settlement is the one I'd want. You are not waiting on a year-end bonus like in defense. If a matter you worked settles after you leave, is your share still paid? Get that answer in writing.
Why do personal injury attorneys leave their firms?
Pay promises that didn't hold, and dockets that changed after the start date. Those are the reasons I hear from PI attorneys. One litigator took a job built on case-value bonuses and got far fewer files than promised. Another settled a very large case and got no bonus for it. On the docket side, a team changed and the files shifted to volume work.
So get it in writing: the fee percentage, gross or net, the origination split, any volume threshold, when it pays, and what happens to fees after you leave.
Are fee shares allowed? ABA Model Rule 5.4 restricts sharing legal fees with nonlawyers, not with a firm's own lawyers. So associate fee shares are generally permitted. Your state's rules and your written agreement control. This is general information, not legal advice.
What does your current offer pay on a case you work, and on one you bring in?