Show us the money

Erin C. Cowling says that including salaries in job postings is a "no-brainer" for her.

"It just doesn't make sense to keep it hidden and not transparent. It wastes not only the applicant's time, but in the long run, it wastes the law firm's time as well," says Cowling, a litigator and founder of Flex Legal Network Inc., a network of freelance lawyers who assist law firms and other organizations on a project or contract basis. "You may go through the whole interview process and then when salary is discussed at the end, the expectations may be so far apart that the firm has to start all over again looking for the right candidate."

Cowling says she has been transparent about pay in her job advertisements as an employer. "When I hired for FlexLegal, I posted the salary," she says. "You feel a little vulnerable because you are putting yourself out there. You are thinking, 'Am I paying enough? Am I paying too much?'"

One advantage Cowling found was that posting the salary "really weeds out people who are expecting a lot more. Also, people know what they are getting into when they apply to those jobs."

There was no need to have that awkward conversation because it was already out there on the table." she says. "There was still some opportunity to negotiate. I don't think it takes it completely off the table. But it removed that whole part of the conversation that I didn't have to have because I had made that public."

Sara Forte, the founder of Forte Workplace Law, says she chooses not to post salaries on her job advertisements as she prefers to customize the compensation package and working arrangements to suit the candidate. 

"One of the things that I do with my team to make process on systemic discrimination is that I work out working conditions and financial arrangements specifically with each person to meet their individual goals and needs," Forte says. "I customize work arrangements and compensation completely on an individual basis. That has been one of the things that worked really well for our team. People have a shoe that fits them and their life and they're not trying to squeeze into something that doesn't."

Carrie Gallant, an executive leadership coach, says that legal employers should know that many job candidates are concerned about issues other than salary.

"There has been a lot of research done on what is attracting people to work and to stay. Many people are looking for more work-life balance and more than just, 'can I make money here?'" says Gallant. "Many lawyers are drawn to the profession because they want to make a difference, do interesting work and be intellectually stimulated and yes, make money."

If an employer chooses not to post a pay scale in their job description, Forte says it's essential to address this early in the interview process. 

"You don't want to go through five rounds of interviews and then tell people what the compensation offer is and find out it's totally unsuitable," says Forte, who practices in employment, labour and workplace human rights. "That is a large spend of organizational resources and time is money in this billable hour profession."

For law firms and other legal organizations that are uncomfortable posting one fixed number as a salary, Cowling recommends that they consider posting a salary range. 

Cowling says that some legal employers may choose not to post their pay scale because they value their privacy and would lose some control over the negotiation process. 

"It only hurts those who may not be in the know about pay and salary expectations," says Cowling. "Unfortunately, sometimes certain equity-seeking groups may be at a disadvantage to getting the salary that they deserve."
Forte argues that the legal profession needs more transparency about money in general.

"Compensation and all aspects of money in terms of the business of law are held so closely. To me, that's an expression of power and privilege. A small number of people have that information, and then everyone else is just shooting in the dark," says Forte. "That lack of transparency reinforces systemic discrimination further."
Gallant says that lawyers need to consider the issue of pay transparency in a broader context.

"Lack of transparency is part of a system that has not been working all that well for certain groups —women, people of colour, people with different abilities, different genders," she says. "It's been favourable for those in the highest rung of power."

But Gallant says that pay transparency is not the complete solution to gender or racial inequality.

"It's a measure to enhance the ability for those who lack balanced access to information to get some of that. It doesn't level the playing field entirely by any stretch," she says.

Even if lawyers feel uncomfortable discussing compensation more openly, Cowling hopes the legal culture will change.

"For some people and some cultures, we don't talk about money; we don't talk about salary. But it's hard to negotiate for something if you don't know if you are being underpaid or overpaid, and you don't know what other people of your call and experience are being paid," says Cowling. "It puts you at a disadvantage in the negotiation."

Forte says she is still trying to grapple with transparency as a concept. "I am still reconciling the competing concerns of privacy, the ability to customize and an acceptance that pay transparency is important to dismantle systemic discrimination."