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The issue here, I think, is why a lawyer's typical charge out rate time hours per year is more than 10 times their average earnings.

The short answer is that law firms should be far more profitable than most of them are. One of the biggest reasons for that is ultimately down to governance issues. This is a shame as law offers the sort of gross profit margins that other businesses would die for (they are quite a bit better than in accountancy as a rule), yet the firms by and large do not deliver commensurate profitability.

If you want to drive the average pay of the profession up, you need to change how practices are run. The profession has a lot to learn from outsiders and many people in it are simply unwilling to talk to them. We do not do this, though I'd be happy to recommend people we know who do and who we know to be good.

I will be surprised indeed if i get asked by anyone for a recommendation.