Class of '08: Did you fill out NALP forms??

Many contract attorneys have probably seen the line graph of the "Bi-Modal Distribution" that represents the starting salaries of newly minted attorneys. It's sometimes called an "upside down bell curve." If you look at the graph, you'll see that there are two peaks, representing the modes (most frequent) of salaries. The graph has looked pretty similar for the past three years. Created by Indiana's Professor Bill Henderson, the charts are pretty insightful. Of course the charts cannot possibly reflect the salaries of those that do not answer NALP forms.

The most recent chart can be found here:

http://www.elsblog.org/the_empirical_legal_studi/2009/06/the-end-of-an-era-the-bimodal-distribution-for-the-class-of-2008.html

Class of '08 on top, the classes of '07 and '06 can be found if you scroll further down.

The chart tells us that the bottom 42% or so are earning in the lower range of between $40k to $65k. I wonder if this includes any contract attorneys, or just the people working in government and small firms. It's hard to believe that 23% are earning $160k.