Yes, lots of money--if you don't mind working for the interests of large corporations. Who would think that mother earth's gift to mankind--the seed--could be owned by someone? Well, get a few intellectual property lawyers together and they'll show you how. Meanwhile, people are going hungry across the world, even though there is not a shortage of food.
i've thought about environmental law and saw that the salaries for state vs private are almost as disparate as tax law The state (or environmental advocacy groups), of course, would be the only side which i would be happy working with
I don't know where you're getting this info SL but I would be cautious about concluding that public sector jobs don't pay. Their methodology for obtaining this data may be flawed (US News comes to mind) or it may be misleading. Also, for example, an average salary figure (skewed by private big firm salaries) isn't going to be as meaningful as a median figure. If you think public tax attorneys aren't paid, look up the salary for a starting attorney at the IRS on USAJobs. I don't know what it is, but I bet it is comparable to what small firms are making. Consider that salary isn't the only feature of a job. Also, consider that starting jobs are usually stepping stones to something else. If you want to be a professional environmentalist, I would suggest that the best way to get a good job in that field is to work in that field--which may open doors for you in the future.
There was an article, unfortunately I cannot find it, about the tax law thing where either a professor or a dean at university of chicago or of Columbia university talked about how it is currently an imbalanced system b/c private is able to get all the best lawyers (b/c they pay them more the twice as much and have more of them per case) and the state is both understaffed and largely w/ not-as-good lawyers b/c so few people want to work for less. I will do my best to find it but it is the end of the semester
As far as the Environmental law goes, I talked to a few people who work with the state. One woman whom i spoke to at length told me pretty much the same thing. I forget her exact position, but she is pretty high up and is very successful. This is not to say that the job wouldn't be better overall considering what you are working towards, just saying that pay-gap sucks. Some schools will have tuition-forgiveness if you work these state-job or pro-bono jobs, I think University of Chicago after 7 years will forgive your entire tuition or something like that and Columbia's program seemed pretty generous. But still, if you work private you will pay your avg. debt of 100,000 dollars in 2-3 years in some cases (according to the dean of admission at UC)
Finally, I found it. As easy as it should have been and how long it took me, you can probably tell I haven't done too much research in my college career.
THOSE of us hurrying to finish our taxes by tomorrow’s deadline will probably, at some point, succumb to thoughts of the I.R.S. as an all-powerful bully. But the truth is, the government is not always a match for the tax advisors of wealthy people, so a lot of taxes will go unpaid at the top of the income scale.
Lawyers who represent high-income taxpayers earn more than 10 times what senior government lawyers do — an obvious disadvantage for the I.R.S., the Departments of Justice and Treasury, and for Capitol Hill in attracting and retaining top talent.
Re: Another semester in the books! 
The state (or environmental advocacy groups), of course, would be the only side which i would be happy working with
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