Agreed. I was entering the law field around 2001. 1) During 1990's, silicon valley startups started poaching talented lawyers from west coast law firms. 2)

Agreed. I was entering the law field around 2001. 1) During 1990's, silicon valley startups started poaching talented lawyers from west coast law firms. 2) To combat this, some top west coast law firms raised their salaries to retain talent. 3) At the same time, junior lawyers in NYC and CA starting sharing salary information on Internet message boards. 4) Almost over night, top NYC law firms raised their salaries to match the CA salaries. 5) So the bimodal distribution was formed from the "top" law firms all match each other's salaries.