Welcome to Ambition’s Legal Marketing & BD salary guide, specifically for law firms in New York.
The salary data in this guide is drawn from the salaries of roles we have actively recruited for this year as well as from market data. You will notice that the salary bandings are relatively broad, reflecting the differences in firm sizes and their respective pay scales.
For more tailored advice, whether for yourself or your team, please contact us directly.
Market update
2024 was a strong year for the legal industry as a whole and for individual firms. As always, marketing, business development and communications teams played an important role in that success.
We saw a return to pre-pandemic levels of hiring, with the majority of roles in the market being replacement headcount positions. Talent remained very competitive and candidate-led, and lateral moves were a particular challenge.
There were also significant changes at the C-suite level within the Am Law 100, so it will be interesting to observe hiring patterns at those firms through 2025.
Return-to-office arrangements and expectations remained top of mind this past year; we saw an increasing number of firms move from two to three days in the office to four days. These policies affected hiring across the industry.
We expect this trend to continue in 2025, but we may see more firms have a flexible policy on where jobs are located. Since the competition for talent will no doubt remain fierce, broadening the candidate pool by considering multiple locations may give firms a leg up on the competition.
Retention will remain a priority, and firms will need to further invest in their employees – through professional development and internal promotions – to minimize attrition.
While we cannot predict the future, we know this much - marketing, business development and communications professionals will continue to be pivotal to the legal industry’s growth.
In terms of compensation, salaries can vary significantly, based on the size of the firm, the nature of the role, and the amount of management responsibilities. The team at Ambition are always happy to answer any questions you have so please don’t hesitate to contact us if we can be of assistance.
Legal BD, Marketing & Communications Salary Guide H1 2025
Legal Business Development & Marketing Salaries in New York
Job title | Salary per annum |
Business Development Director / Marketing Director | $275,000 - $360,000+ |
Associate Business Development Director / Associate Marketing Director | $235,000 - $320,000+ |
Senior Business Development Manager / Senior Marketing Manager | $200,000 - $265,000 |
Business Development Manager / Marketing Manager | $160,000 - $230,000 |
Business Development / Marketing Senior Specialist | $125,000 - $155,000 |
Business Development Specialist / Marketing Specialist | $110,000 - $145,000 |
Business Development Senior Coordinator / Marketing Senior Coordinator | $75,000 - $115,000 |
Business Development Coordinator / Marketing Coordinator | $55,000 - $80,000 |
Legal Communications Salaries in New York
Job title | Salary per annum |
Communications Director | $245,000 - $320,000+ |
Senior Communications Manager | $210,000 - $300,000 |
Communications Manager | $190,000 - $260,000 |
Communications Specialist | $100,000 - $145,000 |
Communications Coordinator | $70,000 - $95,000 |
Legal Events Salaries in New York
Job title | Salary per annum |
Senior Events Manager | $180,000 - $230,000+ |
Events Manager | $145,000 - $210,000 |
Events Specialist | $100,000 - $140,000 |
Events Coordinator | $70,000 - $95,000 |
Legal Bids/Pitches Salaries in New York
Job title | Salary per annum |
Senior Bid Manager | $195,000 - $260,000 |
Bid Manager | $165,000 - $220,000 |
Bid Specialist | $110,000 - $145,000 |
Bid Coordinator | $60,000- $95,000 |
Notes on salary table:
The above salaries are based on remuneration in global law firms. Titles and levels vary from firm to firm.
The salary ranges given are only approximate guides. For tailored salary advice, please contact us directly.
12-month base salaries are assumed.
All other benefits and bonuses are in addition to these figures.
Bonus ranges can vary significantly from firm to firm and will be influenced by market conditions, and business & individual performances.
For more tailored salary advice, contact ben.curle@ambitionsearch.com or call Ben on 212 540 9207.