Big law salary reddit. Cities don't pay salaries; firms do.

Big law salary reddit Law is not the career path if you want to make money. Raising their salaries in near lockstep. Between bonus and salary, I make over $400K/year now. This is how I personally prevented the golden handcuffs - just budgeted as if I would be going in house Slight exaggeration -- A far majority of those from the T13 can get a BigLaw job somewhere minus maybe those who dick around and get less than a 3. UW has a meh pipeline to big law, each firm takes about 2-3 students each year, meaning about top 10-15% get jobs through OCI. expected salary IF NOT big law, expected net IF big law (so minus taxes Some firms pay a nice bonus, as long as you clerked at least at the District level, something like $50,000 - $100,000 depending on the firm and what kind of clerkship you had, thus your financial sacrifice is not much in the grand scheme of things. Actually, considering the amount of hours big law forces associates to work relative to their pay, you’re making the same as a lawyer with good salary with humane hours is somewhere else. You become especially marketable if you have experience or build a healthy practice in a high-demand legal area (e. Really have no idea what area of law I would want to practice in if I took the plunge. And of course law enforcement barely requires an AA degree and in 23 years you get retirement with pension at 80-90% of your average final salary (boosted through OT) and then you jump to another law enforcement branch and start working on the double pension. Lowest partner is about 10x first year salary and highest partner is exactly 10x lowest partner (they have a 10:1 ratio among equity partners, which is part of how we can figure these things out). Consulting: big boys like McKinsey generally offer high $100s to low $200s with the promise of 75% biglaw hours - “usually done by 630/7” and “not many weekends”. But that’s just my two cents. First year associate salaries at big law in Ottawa are roughly 70-80 I think, averaging 65 across medium d well established firms. There are many medical specialties where you can make 500k plus. I clicked on (and was referring to) the link above that lists starting 1st year salaries as $215,000 at “Big Law” firms. But I have several friends who are in at Fortune 100s, and they're making in the low $200s plus bonus, 10-15 years out of law school. I bet a low end jaguar lease is only like $400 - $500 bucks a month, pretty affordable on a big law salary. Mid-law firms that pay big law salaries usually aren't shy about it, so you could probably Google any interesting ones to find out which of them moved up to $215k. 5k a month or 138k after taxes. My 1L big law internship completely changed my life and my family's life. How does a typical big law 1st year associate salary compare in those Few schools publish salary data, but if you look at one of the few that do like Columbia, you'll see that most 100-249 employee salaries are Cravath-scale and that even 25th percentile salary for that group is close to it. (say 180K because 190K is not the most common salary for big law), then we They are usually competitive and uncommon. The Reddit Law School Admissions Forum. Mar 1, 2023 · No. B) The fact that starting salaries have not risen since I graduated in the early 2010s despite massive cuts in law school classes is very disturbing. If it’s money you’re chasing, you don’t need to be in big law to get that either necessarily. Yup. The majority of big law 1L SA positions are diversity positions. first year salary can range from $40k for the really desperate, to $215k + $20k for the top-market firms who hit their target hours. Curious what gave you the impression changes to scale happens every couple years and dictated by inflation? Salary increases in 2016, 2018, and 2021, along with special bonuses in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Kirkland and Sidley alone account for 200 this year. That being said, the median salary for a lawyer in the US is about $125-$130k, and outside of the major markets and the most prestigious firms, not many first years are gonna break $100k. Looking at the employment data of UF, FSU, Miami etc. HOWEVER!!! Whatever you do, I recommend assuming you will be making 40% less than big law salary. First year bump would be closer to $5k maybe 10 if way over hours. I’m in my early 30s finishing up law school. The “big” in “big law” is not limited to attorney count. Ignoring the last two years, salary raises used to be only once every couple of years. g. Cities don't pay salaries; firms do. Ask questions, seek advice, post… 15 votes, 30 comments. If you’re at a major market firm paying whatever it is they’re calling the 190k scale now, summers get paid over the 10/12 weeks they’re there at the same amount a first year is paid. ) FAANG compensation is backloaded usually in form of stock 2. I was at a small boutique firm and lateraled to big law. For current and former Law School Redditors. Idk about this. I think the longer you’re at a big 4, the harder it will be to make the switch to big law. This doesn't account for small practices, crim/public, etc. Also, fairly or not, other lawyers and firms judge people by school long after you graduate to an extent that surprised me. You either get a prestige wage and get worked into the ground, or get a low wage (not worth a bachelor degree and 3 years of grad school) and still get worked into the ground. That’s an oversimplification. The best part is that she gets 11. Interested in learning about the chicago office but will take information about salary at any office. At my law school, many of the professors there made 6 figure salaries and then got paid for things like books they wrote and speeches they gave. K&L is the only firm I know that regularly takes SU students, but it is highly competitive (think top 2 in your class). You would have to factor in the salary increase from years 4+. I’m read up on the bimodal salary distribution of the industry, and have seen that most starting salaries outside of Big Law peak at around 60k, but it is difficult to find information on how the salary growth works (if there is any) from that point on. So big law basically all pays the same. Both are important because what your spouse does and how they feel about it should be important to you. Partners at big law law in my practice group were very receptive to letting internal deadlines lapse if you were working on an important pro Bono case. Mar 17, 2023 · Lawyer pay is highly bimodal, some by choice, but some not. A big law training is very desirable to employers. The misery of big law is quickly approaching us incoming associates. I started at about 1/3rd of big law rates but only worked 40-45 hrs per week and no time on weekends. 100k a year? How? Say starting salary is 215k with bonus. 45K subscribers in the biglaw community. From what I’ve seen, most 1L internships don’t pay anything. But if one spouse makes 500k and the other makes 50k, one of their jobs is objectively more important than the other with respect to providing for the needs of the family and this should be taken into consideration when solving problems. Some may argue they are harder than big law because the 150 attorney firms may only hire a couple people every few years instead of massive summer classes. . We’ve interviewed a few big 4 laterals for a position in our tax group, but they haven’t been a fit. This subreddit is intended for the discussion of interesting UK caselaw and legislation, and for discussion… Just fyi, your salary info for ND is a little off b/c ND does not disclose salary statistics, and the 75k/131k/205k statistic ND has posted on their website is the NALP National Salary statistic for the entire nation (basically all law schools), and not Notre Dame (ND is estimated to have around a $150k~$170k median salary). 0. I've seen conflicting opinions on whether UT is easier than lower T14 to land Texas Big Law jobs (easier is defined as the… The Reddit Law School Admissions Forum. In the past year alone the starting salary went from $195k to $215k- Sometimes smaller city locations might pay less, but it’s mostly consistent throughout big law. What do you consider big law money? Are we talking big law entry salary (200-225)? If so, yes. Posted by u/rabblerouser87 - 16 votes and 10 comments I was an agent for 5 years and finished at 145 before transitioning to attorney. The best place on Reddit for admissions advice. 3 years of lost salary in years 1-3 at 70k is $210,000, and 180k-110k=70k, so you could account for that lost salary in 3 years at a law firm (years 4-6) and begin to make 70k more than you would have each of years 7+. Discussion, issues, best practices, and support for lawyers practicing either solo or in a small firm. They are definitely $200-$250K jobs. Additionally, there’s always hope that you can lateral into big law if you work at a competitive boutique or mid size. I'd imagine $200-250K jobs are rarer in Nasvhille, for example. Pay for associates in some major cities is way less than their NYC/SF/DC offices and hardly lucrative for 7 years of school. Not sure how helpful this information will be to prospective law students since there's no way of knowing what year respondents obtained their starting salaries and thus no way to adjust for inflation. The light at the end of the tunnel to an exit opp that at least doesn’t crush you for 80 hour weeks over and over is many years away. Salary is market and industry dependent. , the private sector salaries are are as low as 60k a year and the public sector salaries are as low as 45k a year. Source: 7th yr litigator who has worked at 3 big law firms. Starting salary typically increases every 3-4 years. Again, connections go a long way since 1L big law is so competitive. But, this is in a major market. Welcome to the r/Suits TV show Subreddit --- Suits This is a subreddit about USA Network's hit show *Suits*, which centers around lawyer Harvey Specter and his associate Mike Ross (who doesn't have a law degree, but does have a photographic memory), and the law firm where they work. Even outside big law that's a vacation. Stayed for 5 years. And all of the attorneys I know who have left big law have only moved up. Big law firms in the US often pay associates the exact same no matter their specialty. For instance, first year associates at many big law firms in the US typically make USD $160,000 - $170,000. $30k is for mid-seniors, not first years. However, biglaw starting salary for someone fresh out of law school was $180k the last Apply as much of your summer associate pay to 3L tuition as possible. Family though is definitely a big 170 votes, 128 comments. I’m in lit. Not to mention the incredible opportunity to put on the white hat so to speak and actually help people. I graduated law school in May 2020, after attending a t14 and paying sticker. I have really cool cases and got substantive work beginning in my first year so have never had to deal with much mindless work. A place where current, former, and future Public Defenders can discuss the state of the practice, learn about criminal law, vent about prosecutors, and enjoy each others' company. There are several mid sized firms that take UW students regularly. I can honestly say that it had a massive impact on my skill level and technique, and I dont think i would have gained the same insight had I stayed at my original firm for an equivalent period (even adjusted for billable hours). Not that small boutique shops don't work on complex matters, just that at a big firm, you're exposed to higher stakes, complicated legal issues, and unprecedented activities (in my regulatory practice at The Reddit Law School Admissions Forum. Add in the 10-20 per firm for the Mayers and Winstons of the world and another 5-10 for the myriad of smaller offices and you get to a bit under 1000 quickly. It’s 20-30 minutes max from most of Chicago to downtown during rush hour. The following animated graphic shows the inflation-adjusted increases in both the average US law school tuition fees and the average starting salary in a large law firm. I’ve tried several online net salary calculators but my experience with past employment is the calculators tend to overshoot the net salary amount. But after taxes, 401k, benefits my direct deposit is $5100/month. 50K subscribers in the biglaw community. If you want FAANG as an EE you have to be pretty cracked at coding or go to an elite institution to get some name recognition. For most people Big Law is not a viable long term career option, and the rationale for lateralling to NYC is that if you're going to be grinding short term for a few years anyway, you might as well grind a bit harder and earn 2. IB is unimodal, and that mode prints money. So if you can’t afford your regular loan payment and the mortgage and investments on 40% less than you salary, then I wouldn’t do it. if the school doesn't hit the Cravath scale big law salary (180k starting I'd argue some firms even start looking at potential recruitment from Spring schemes taking place in the first year of a BA degree, which I am currently applying for now. Idk how much the partners I work with make exactly but our PPP is like 2. In nominal terms, you could technically pay off debt with about one year’s salary. No. Current Big Tech 1 YOE w Total Comp -> $205K I have an undergraduate degree in engineering and would be interested in patent or tech law. Jan 29, 2022 · Federal Government: tops out $160k unless you’re SES which can be occasional biglaw hours but still less than first year salary. I’m starting as a first year in big law and would like to get a realistic sense of the net salary for a first year living in DC on the Cravath scale ($215k). I don't know what market you're in, but in NYC, there are unfortunately basically no in-house jobs that pay as well as big law. Hello. true. . 31 votes, 55 comments. All of my friends who have gone in-house have gotten $200K+. HFT the next best option is also a 200k+ salary job but has its downsides of 60 HR weeks same as big law and requires presitgious or incredibly talented background. I'd guess 5-10k raises per year after 5 years maxing at 200-250. There are V100/AmLaw200 firms that pay under market (though, they're still pretty close). Public Defenders are human rights advocates fighting against mass incarceration, the greatest human rights crisis in the United States. They pay people with nothing but retail/waiter experience a starting salary of $205k, and 80-90% of them leave voluntarily to jobs which will pay them less than half of what they were making in big law. Also, your dollar will go considerably further than traditional big law markets and if you’re in the right firm your QoL can be much better than traditional big law (in my experience). Assuming DC, that's about 11. Like biglaw is very upfront and transparent about its compensation, and basically no government jobs require work after 5pm/on weekends. Prospective law student here. 35K subscribers in the uklaw community. In the last two years: 2020 salary was $190k, bonus $7. I will say, money aside, you get to work on more complex matters at a big law firm. Even with a hypothetical 2,000 attorneys, a largely plaintiffs’-side personal injury firm that has 5-figure starting base pay is not biglaw. I just think it’s a nice alternative for people to consider when they’re burned out on traditional big law but still enjoy working in a firm. 5k, special bonus $15k July 2021 salary was $205k, bonus $20k, special bonus $16k I've gotta slap a big 'not a tax person' caveat on this, but I think the the 2017 tax bill changed W-4s (the withholding form) to eliminate "allowances. 1. I think it’s fun. I realize there is a lot of previous discussion pertaining to Big 4 salaries, but most of the compensation details I’m seeing is specific to accounting majors joining with plans to sit for the CPA. Law firms will even financially support law school conversion degrees (or LPCs for law degree holders). Big law is a very broad term and comp can vary significantly based on geography and whether the firm is one of the top patent firms. Absolutely DO NOT refinance until 2026 when you will have to use a full year of big law salary to recertify for the income driven repayment (IDR) SAVE plan. I’m a first gen minority law student, and know little about Florida market. My rent was $960/month including utilities, but currently own $890/month (principal,interest,taxes,insurance, all utils). Something like under 1% of the legal market makes top of market pay. Salary was around $62,000 pre-Bar and $72,000 post-Bar. 646K subscribers in the LawSchool community. For example, I will be working at a large firm with a decentralized structure, where our regional division of the firm only employs about 200 attorneys or less and the pay is over $100k but very low by biglaw standards. Already paid off all of my student loans years ago. Don’t think this is all that off base but I think there are more like 500-1000 SAs. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. This article from a couple years ago (back when the Cravath scale started at $190k) lists a few dozen firms starting incoming associates at big law salary (or close to it). My wife is a doc in a higher paying specialty, she pulls in about 650k per year. As you can see, even the high salaries of Big Law can’t keep up with the tuition law schools are charging and the associated debt that new lawyers are taking on. Once one firm ups salaries, the others normally will follow. And even if they don’t pay, if you attempt to earn credits for the unpaid internship you ironically have to pay the law school since they’re technically school credits (at least that’s the case at my law school). Recent SAs, please correct me if I'm wrong. 5 on average, but yes i bet most of them have trust funds and college funds set up for their kids that they are contributing to I went to a small firm instead of big law from a T14 because I didn’t want to work the hours. Only about 15% of law students get into big law, and the salaries between biglaw and not are extremely bimodal. Assuming BL needs at least a 1BR to work from home (about 3k), we're at about 100k after taxes and rent. I’m a second year law student who just accepted an internship with Deloitte, midwest region in a moderately HCOL area. I'm at a V10 and sometimes talk to the bankers for various matters, and they seem to keep around the same hours I keep based off email and phone traffic (and sometimes lack of replies for eight or nine hours - which I know sounds insane already, but if you're working 18-20 hours a day every day like some folks claim, then the gaps don't quite add up). Rising fourth year litigation associate in Am 30 big law About to begin interview process with a tech company and was told the pay for this position is capped at 185k, plus 25% discretionary bonus and around 12% stock. So for me Big Law makes the most sense. It’s at a real estate and land use law firm. 5 weeks PTO per year and uses every single day of that. My salary is based on a 37. Biglaw Salary Scale + Bonuses (1968 - 2025) – Biglaw Investor For big law, current starting salary is $215k with $20k bonus (some firms pro-rate for the stub years, others pay no bonus for your first three months). I’m a brand new IP paralegal at a top 20 ranked US law firm in Denver and my base salary is $115k (note: I do have over 10 years of big law IP experience). Get the Reddit app The 2024 Big Law High Student Loan Info from myself and other agents I have worked with: entry level patent engineer (80k); agent with 3-5 years (120k-150k); agent with 7+ years (~175k); agent with 4-5 years at a really larger firm (~210k plus hiring bonus); agent with 5 years (165k plus 10% bonus for meeting min billable for the year); minimum billable ranges between 1650-1800. 5 million last I checked, so I imagine it's at least 1. This is NOT a forum for legal advice. Law schools NEVER disclose this sort of info to potential applicants, instead boasting that "some of our students get prestigous jobs at big law firms with big salaries" blah blah. 300k is what a the bottom 50% of doctors make in the US. Posted by u/throwaway2929102 - 23 votes and 62 comments Go to toplawschools forum and search Nashville, there’re a few thread. Some pay market in some offices, but less for offices in lower COL areas. The moves reflect the aggressive moves by biglaw firms to retain legal talent in the face of market challenges. Our billing requirements at 1850, but your point still stands and I totally agree. But I generally enjoy the job, so it's all good. "Big law" is a broad term that encompasses things other than salary like firm size, gross revenue, prestige, etc. People are not describing mere attorney count when they use this term. Get an alert in your inbox when there are changes to the salary scale or new bonus announcements, plus exclusive content in the Biglaw Investor email list. If applicable to you and the jobs you’re applying for, it looks good to have a 1L rep position in a particular student affinity group. I owe about 300,000 in debt after the whopping 30k in interest amassed in law school. I know plenty of PI attorneys and MidLaw partners that are making above big law entry salary. Not sure if you will get that kind of PTO in big law. If you ultimately want to get a tax position in big law, all else equal, I think IRS OCC is the better choice. I was always happy with my salary, I’m just wondering how any firm paying $215k is going to bill out (hourly rate) a 1st year. Former NYer … now in Chicago for law school. I understand that Toronto and other major cities have a higher starting salary and scale. " So it's now much harder to reduce the amount of withholding, and I think SAs should expect to be over-taxed and get a large refund next spring. 54 votes, 93 comments. 227 votes, 148 comments. I’ve secured a job at a big law firm that will start paying me 225k a year… These salaries go to the top 5-10% of law school graduates, so not an easily accessible salary. The hours are much better and much more flexible, but in biglaw when they say "Cancel your plans you are working this weekend" you know you make enough to just book for next weekend. labor & employment law, real estate, commercial/business litigation, among others) while working for said MidLaw firm for 2-5 years. 41K subscribers in the biglaw community. I mean there are some really weird examples that are hard to classify. Even giving you a cushion of 200 hours (1600 hours) for non-billable hours or getting cut, that's about 30 hours a week. And some midsize and boutiques pay market. $200,000+ is big law salary so I’m confused what your question is. Check out the sidebar for intro guides. The associate salaries are the same, but you need to look at PPP and rev per lawyer when comparing these three firms because it tells you the relative health of the firms and the ability for the firms to attract and retain partner talent. Midwest “biglaw” definitely is a step below other markets in terms of compensation, both salary and bonus. Big tech companies tend to only hire people with 7-10 years of experience so there’s no lateral path "work-a-holic" at 1400 hours lol. If you want to advance past the level of a 3rd year, you generally need to be billing more than the minimum, so expect 80+hrs a week while being on call 24/7. There are jobs in Big Law you will only get coming from T14 (since Big Law firms and offices are not actually equal) and you’d also compete against T14 people for public sector jobs. GULC and the rest of the T25 it's pretty much top 33-50%, and then after that it's top 10% of your class (Law Review) minus maybe WFU, UNC, and UF. At a top firm in a major market (think SF/SV, Boston, DC) 150 is the absolute floor for your experience and I’d personally expect closer to 160-170 for your experience. They also have low BL/FC rates. I understand that big law firms are rare in FL, but why? Wouldn’t the low taxes and booming economy attract more biglaw and midlaw firms? This is simply not true. I knew a few law school professors who were making half a million while working less than 20 hours a week. Many attorneys make lateral moves from MidLaw to BigLaw. I live in the midwest make $85k/year. ) turnover for FAANG is even higher than big law (people last 1-2 years before moving elsewhere vs big law people usually stick around more than 1-2 years) i'm not a law student, but i was just curious about law salaries. First year out of law school, I worked as a clerk at a County Counsel's office. Federal Government: tops out $160k unless you’re SES which can be occasional biglaw hours but still less than first year salary. If you think my comment stating facts (last sentence admittedly opinion but pretty universally shared) was too condescending my unsolicited advice is to grow a thicker skin because you’re in for much worse as a junior in big law. I would recommend reaching out to 1st-2nd year associates at the firm to gauge their thoughts. I love my job work 25 hours a week, but don’t feel challenged Does it make sense for me to move to big law or patent law purely to optimize compensation? End goal trying to optimize for $1M comp by 40 So i wanted to ask for those of you that live in HCOL states, what is the typical starting salary for a 1st year associate outside of big law and what can you expect it to be 5, 10 years into your career etc. Are we talking big law partners that are making 7 figures? Probably not in the world of litigation without starting a successful firm. 5x the pay, with better experience + street cred in your resume when you come back. Then, most associate salaries increase by about the same amount each year after that. Very common misconception that FAANG pay is comparable to big law. I am aware that this is not true for firms of that are more likely to be targets from schools like WashU, so as you can see Yeah it's laughably lower pay, and it's compounded by Canadian associates get paid less per ratio; I believe US Big law associates generally salary out at 5 to 1 of their billables or so, Canadian big law averages out at 7 to one or so, with the extra money going to Canadian partners (there's also a lot of Canadian big law partners, so you're Meet people, send follow-up emails, ask for an informational call. Salary is going to be lower than the cravath scale but still decent. "local BL" isn't really a thing, you probably mean regional / midlaw. I grew up beyond poor so the big law lifestyle blew my mind. Max tax advantaged accounts - 401(k)/Roth IRA/HSA (not sure what the UK equivalent of these are), keep 3-6 month emergency fund in savings, invest in index funds or target date funds so you can just set it and forget it. I would say anything within the V100 is generally considered biglaw. At many law schools, if you aren't in the top ten percent of your class, you won't even be allowed to participate in OCI. Seems to be $175-185k starting, big caveats being bonuses aren’t market and salary progression isn’t market and at most firms doesn’t seem to be lockstep. At 5 years in I’m at big law starting rates and still only work 40-45 hrs per week and I am basically guaranteed partner. 116 votes, 43 comments. A subreddit for the business and practice of law, catering to lawyers without the support network of a large firm, and **not** generally for legal analysis or substantive case discussion. Jul 19, 2021 · Law is not the career path if you want to make money. Maybe I’m misunderstanding but a class of 2023 associate will be at $215k unless there’s another salary raise. So back to the stats - according to US News, the median salary for a lawyer (of all types and levels of experience) is $118,160, with a 25th percentile of $77,580 and a 75th percentile of $176,580. 5 hour work week. In other terms, commitment begins way earlier here in the UK. With in-house salaries are much, much lower unless you are GC or CLO at a fortune 100, and those are all old white guys who graduated law school before reddit existed. Outside of that there's some spots for people with specific backgrounds (like hard science for patents, accounting for tax) and there's some general spots but much more limited. It sound simple to say “just take a middle-of-the-road salary for a middle-of-the-road work/life balance” but it can feel next to impossible to figure out which jobs those are The Reddit Law School Admissions Forum. To be clear, if my family or I were miserable with the job, I'd have left a while ago. National firms who happen to have an office in Charlotte pay the same salary they do elsewhere. After about six months at that job, I moved on to a small firm as an associate doing plaintiff-side litigation in a mid-size market, but close to a major-market which we have a lot of cases in. Below is the current biglaw salary scale, along with historical data on the previous salary scales and calculations with inflation-adjusted dollars. So yes, patent lawyers make a lot in big law, but so does everyone. There's also law school professor at a good university. Many 1L big law jobs are diversity positions. I have a great summer opportunity with a Florida-based non-national law firm (~120 attorneys; 1950 billable requirement) in a large Florida city. So in pretty much any Sunbelt state, you would only need about $90-110k (give or take) to be able to afford the same cost of living as a $235,000 (Big Law) salary. If you really want to know about salaries — I would look at Leopard Solutions and glance at what smaller firms are making in the location you want to work at. Jan 5, 2025 · The new base salaries were to be paid beginning in January 2024, and range from $225,000 for Class of 2023 associates to $425,000 for the longer-serving associates, as LawFuel has reported. Post any questions you have, there are lots of redditors with admissions knowledge waiting to help. You can make a lot doing either, and people would be best served by picking something that matches passions and talents, but IB has clear advantages over BigLaw. Posted by u/throwaway2929102 - 23 votes and 62 comments They are usually competitive and uncommon. I went from a very comfortable position, partner track, at a smaller firm to big law. Ask questions, seek advice, post outlines, etc. A lot of people say “the higher the comp the closer to big law hours” but idk since I know someone that makes 400k as an in house but works 45 hours a week on average Reply reply blackdogslivesmatter 36 votes, 24 comments. $65K was starting BIG LAW salary in the 1980s. I promise that work-a-holic means so much more everywhere around you. bmiu wmfgv aviikt pojmg gemqsty sjxp mxbepy oxnyv excuw ydsnnn