Risk Update

BRB Law Firm Risk Staffing Compensation Survey (2026 Edition) — Now Open!

Posted Dan Bressler

Hot off the heels of the recent release of the agentic AI for law firm risk survey report, I’m pleased to invite our law firm risk readers to participate in the 2026 Risk Staffing Compensation Survey [HERE]! 

Last year’s exercise, our fourth go, was a great success. We saw participation from 108 individuals, providing nearly 700 data points on US-based risk positions.

Given the large number of report requests over the past year, I once again think we still have room to grow in 2026 numbers! (For those who don’t participate, the fee for a report/personal benchmark will go up in 2027. So, there’s an incentive to contribute.)

Given feedback on the last report, I think we’ve arrived at good framework for collecting both quantitative and qualitative data. We’ve edited a question or two, but folks should find the exercise familiar.

It’s gratifying to see mangers using this data to pursue adjustments for their team and to support recruiting processes. I’m also always happy to hear from individuals using this industry data to self advocate.

So if you’re an individual contribution looking to understand how your comp compares to your peers, or you’re a risk director/manager looking to keep your team (and potential new hires) on par with changing market standards, you don’t want to miss out.


SURVEY DETAILS:

  • Participation open to law firm risk professionals only
  • All responses will be treated confidentially
  • Risk Director / Manager participants sharing data on themselves and their team’s roles and compensation will receive a report summarizing key findings and analysis relevant to their firm demographics
    • (The report may be shared internally within your firm, but not redistributed externally. So if you want the results, your best path is to participate!)
    • NOTE: You’ll need to provide detail on the number of risk staff at your firm and compensation details on yourself and all reports, or you risk a survey report “disqualification.”
    • And if you want the Q&A results section, you’ll need to participate in that optional section as well.
  • Individual contributor participants sharing personal compensation data will be receive a personal benchmark compensation summary relevant to their specific role and firm demographics.

The survey will be open through September 30, and can be accessed here: 2026 Risk Staffing Compensation Survey.

Feel free to share the link with law firm peers and colleagues!

And if anyone has questions (or really needs more time), please do reach out to me directly. (Email readers can do that by just replying to this note — it’ll reach me. Others can use the contact form as well.)

Let’s see what we learn this round!

 

A Note to Canadian Readers:

  • Given compensation differences across the border, last year I shifted away from aggregating all North American data into the averages.
  • If there’s sufficient participation from Canada, I’ll generate a localised report for that geography.
  • I want to support this segement of loyal and supportive readers, but we need a critical mass of firms and data points. So, encourage your colleagues and let’s see what develops!