According to a report released by legal recruiting firm Major, Lindsey & Africa (MLA), average annual pay for U.S. law firm partners reached $1.12 million in 2021, as heightened client demand buoyed firm profits.

MLA’s 2022 partner compensation survey said average pay was higher than any time since it started tracking partner compensation in 2010, with growth driven by “virtually every single practice area.”

Average time billed by partners reached 1,721 hours, “a whole week” over the 1,680 billable hour figure the survey reported in 2020. Non-billed time dropped from the last survey.

Corporate partners reported the highest average total compensation at around $1.49 million, marking a 26% increase – the highest percentage hike among practice areas. The second highest percentage increase was for litigation partners, who saw average pay increase 17% to $1.05 million. Labor and employment partners reported the lowest average total at $653,000, which was a 6% increase, while tax and ERISA partners saw a 9% decline in compensation to an average of $1.15 million.

In a persisting gender gap, male partners reported average compensation of $1.21 million in 2021, while female partners said they received an average of $905,000. The 34% gap, which has narrowed from 44% in the 2020 survey, is in large part due to male partners surpassing female counterparts in business origination, MLA said.