Want to read more about in-house salary trends? Join the discussion on LinkedIn to see what others are saying.

When the U.S. economy tumbled in 2008, the crisis was akin to an earthquake. Rattled by mounting financial uncertainties, businesses scrambled to stabilize themselves with serious cost reductions.

As the dust settles–with most economic experts declaring the recession over–the aftereffects of the crash are evident across all corporate sectors, including in-house legal departments. Staffs are smaller, workloads are heavier, budgets are tighter and salaries are somewhat stagnant.