Trying not to be overlooked by first-year attorneys blinded by ever-bigger starting salaries in New York and California, New Jersey’s largest law firms are boosting pay levels for their fall classes, in one case by as much as $12,000.

Compensation for associates starting in September ranges from $66,000 to $90,000, compared with $58,750 to $80,000 last year, according to a survey of 15 firms by the New Jersey Law Journal.