Small Salaries Lead to High Turnover in Public Defender’s Office

Summary: Due to their low salaries, many attorneys leave government jobs after a short while, leading to increased training expenses for these offices.

According to the Boston Globe, the low salaries offered to attorneys in government offices lead to high rates of turnover in these departments.

The Massachusetts Bar Association discovered that Massachusetts public defenders are paid the lowest salaries of all the fifty states after adjusting for cost of living. The $40,000 salaries are much less than what court reporters and probation officers pull in—those positions earn $77,496 per year and $66,238 per year, respectively.

In addition, freshly hired assistant district attorneys make $37,500 per year, which is lower than the salaries of courthouse custodians, who make $38,796 each year.

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