Aren't programmer salaries equally bimodal?
- People make the most in Big 4 law/tech firms, as well as a handful of boutique firms.
- Most people work elsewhere, making a respectable living but nothing extraordinary like the baove.
- Last but not least, there are folks working as IT/paralegal, who did not manage to break into developer/lawyer.
This last one is very brutal for law careers, if you did not manage to qualify or pass the bar the year you were supposed to, you've lost your chance for life, whereas in technology a formal engineering degree is not a hard requirement.
People are pushing harder to make programming more inclusive simply because it is lucrative (aside from more accurately addressing societal needs if it was more inclusive), but it already has some realities that are way more open than other lucrative professions
In practice, there are plenty of lawyers who are in-house counsels for large companies, own successful law practices in smaller cities and large towns, etc. who make decent money often in moderate cost of living areas.