Big Law

[Porfirio]

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Entry-level lawyers are now making $200,000 a year

Corporate law firms are unique among businesses in that they typically increase pay in tandem, with a few market leaders triggering moves throughout the industry.

www.foxbusiness.com

I found this article to be very interesting. We always talk about law school vs medical school.

 

[Dr Mantis Toboggan]

Entry-level lawyers are now making $200,000 a year

Corporate law firms are unique among businesses in that they typically increase pay in tandem, with a few market leaders triggering moves throughout the industry.

www.foxbusiness.com

I found this article to be very interesting. We always talk about law school vs medical school.

Eh that’s the best of the best schools (top 6 only some say). The average law grad is in big trouble. Medicine much more egalitarian in compensation.

 

[bngli]

Eh that’s the best of the best schools (top 6 only some say). The average law grad is in big trouble. Medicine much more egalitarian in compensation.

Not true anymore. I didn't go to a "best of the best" school and I have multiple friends who made it into big law. You can verify this by going on Linkedin and looking at associate profiles. I am located in the South and am referring to the big law firms down here (branches of the big national firms). However, they receive the same or similar pay (maybe even coming out ahead due to the lower cost of living).

I don't know if these links works the way I want it to, but if you filter it down you can see the "best of the best" schools thing is overblown.

[link removed: LinkedIn can display identities of people who visit for certain subscribers; link was removed as it could identify posters names and locations]

 

[southerndoc]

Eh that’s the best of the best schools (top 6 only some say). The average law grad is in big trouble. Medicine much more egalitarian in compensation.

My malpractice attorney said the starting salaries for most graduating lawyers is low and plenty have trouble finding jobs. I trust what he says.

 

[Lexdiamondz]

Not true anymore. I didn't go to a "best of the best" school and I have multiple friends who made it into big law. You can verify this by going on Linkedin and looking at associate profiles. I am located in the South and am referring to the big law firms down here (branches of the big national firms). However, they receive the same or similar pay (maybe even coming out ahead due to the lower cost of living).

I don't know if these links works the way I want it to, but if you filter it down you can see the "best of the best" schools thing is overblown.

[link removed: LinkedIn can display identities of people who visit for certain subscribers; link was removed as it could identify posters names and locations]

Eh if anything I'd say it's more true now

People who come out of T-14 are favored to get biglaw jobs but they arent the only ones that do, this is true

however they are the only schools where a majority of grads can get biglaw if they want

once you're out of the top 50 law schools, the number of grads securing a biglaw job often drops to single digits

 

[EctopicFetus]

You know what law schools do? They publish their % of grads who get jobs. they also often publish avg starting pay for their grads. It allows people to know how “great” they are. With the 💩 show that is EM is this our future too?

“We at HCA #453 residency had 0.3% of our grads get hired. Avg pay nearing NP rates“

** yes sarcasm above but not too far off. HCA will hire their own brainwashed idiots. And yes pay will be nominally better than NP rates. Oh and NP rates will start to come down to RN rates. Glut of MLPs all over the place now. Many of them cant find jobs. We have had some NPs come back to work as RNs as travel RNs.

 

[EctopicFetus]

You know what else about law. 0 private equity involvement. There is a general glut of lawyers, plenty make under 100k per year and plenty of sketchy ass law schools.

 

[Dr Mantis Toboggan]

You know what lawyers never did? Authorize their paralegals to practice any aspect of law independently.

 

[Kuratz]

I have a friend now 4 years out of a top 25 law school, 30 years old. First year was spent working retail (no joke) because she couldn’t find anything. Then she took an associate job working surgical residency-like hours making in the ballpark of $80-100k for two year. After being chewed up and spit out she spent 6 more months working retail looking for a job and now has a more lifestyle friendly government position that also pays sub $100k. She’s fortunate to have both gone to a solid school and also have gotten a hefty scholarship. Many others are in worse positions. And frankly the work seems awful.

The equivalent of Big Law would be some successful surgical sub specialist, not your average physician.

There are many envious fields outside of medicine. Law ain’t it

 

[sloh]

Not true anymore. I didn't go to a "best of the best" school and I have multiple friends who made it into big law. You can verify this by going on Linkedin and looking at associate profiles. I am located in the South and am referring to the big law firms down here (branches of the big national firms). However, they receive the same or similar pay (maybe even coming out ahead due to the lower cost of living).

I don't know if these links works the way I want it to, but if you filter it down you can see the "best of the best" schools thing is overblown.

[link removed: LinkedIn can display identities of people who visit for certain subscribers; link was removed as it could identify posters names and locations]

How many hours do they work on average per week?

 

[deleted941485]

Eh that’s the best of the best schools (top 6 only some say). The average law grad is in big trouble. Medicine much more egalitarian in compensation.

LOL I literally read this in WSJ today. I have no idea why they publish this nonsense. The Major Law Firms are the only ones that even have the ability to offer anything close to this and really how many 25 year olds are they forking over 200K for? Oh I know the ones that went a Top-10 law school. It s a joke. Honestly I would have bombed the LSATs and probably ended up at some dead end firm making less than I am now. They hand out Law Degress to too many idiots these days thus devaluing the degree for everyone.

 

[Dr Mantis Toboggan]

LOL I literally read this in WSJ today. I have no idea why they publish this nonsense. The Major Law Firms are the only ones that even have the ability to offer anything close to this and really how many 25 year olds are they forking over 200K for? Oh I know the ones that went a Top-10 law school. It s a joke. Honestly I would have bombed the LSATs and probably ended up at some dead end firm making less than I am now. They hand out Law Degress to too many idiots these days thus devaluing the degree for everyone.

Barrier to opening a new law school was too low. All you need is some professors and lecture halls and a library and you are ready to rock and roll. Opening up a med school should be really hard (some of the new for profit DO schools demonstrate otherwise). Ditto for an EM residency.

 

[Vandalia]

How many hours do they work on average per week?

I was told that the average attorney at a large law firm is expected to generate around 1800 billable and 600 non-billable hours per year.

Their computer tracks and accounts for every task; we complain about documentation and billing, they complain about having to account for every minute of their day. So if they have to go use the restroom or get some coffee the counter stops.

However, if you are talking about the "big boys" with the surgeon or NFL player salaries, that would be around 3500 billable hours a year and 600 non-billable so 4,000 hours a year. So 80 hours a week at 50 weeks a year. Again, that is 4,000 hours actually doing something.

I have a friend at one of those firms who does appellate work. He said 100-110 hour weeks are not common, but they are not unusual, depending on if a big hearing is coming up.

 

[EctopicFetus]

I was told that the average attorney at a large law firm is expected to generate around 1800 billable and 600 non-billable hours per year.

Their computer tracks and accounts for every task; we complain about documentation and billing, they complain about having to account for every minute of their day. So if they have to go use the restroom or get some coffee the counter stops.

However, if you are talking about the "big boys" with the surgeon or NFL player salaries, that would be around 3500 billable hours a year and 600 non-billable so 4,000 hours a year. So 80 hours a week at 50 weeks a year. Again, that is 4,000 hours actually doing something.

I have a friend at one of those firms who does appellate work. He said 100-110 hour weeks are not common, but they are not unusual, depending on if a big hearing is coming up.

Not quite right. My wife went to a top 5 law school. Worked in big law for a little bit. The guys who made big money did so not thru their own billable hours but rather bringing in clients. Probably the most skilled litigation lawyer in her former firm didnt make the most or even close cause he was not a great salesman.

Their top guy had a huge client and this dude made $2-$4m annually from this one client. I dont know if it is common but the Partners who bring in business and get credit for the client get 10% of what they collect.

The top paid guys are doing sales and not practicing law. The actual writing of opinions and such is done by the associates, not by the big dogs.