Anticipated raise / lockstep in secondary market? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm starting at a NLJ 250 firm in a secondary market where starting salary is 100k. Information about pay scale is not available for my firm (unlike V100 firms that are on Abovethelaw.com every day).

What should I anticipate as a raise from 1st to 2nd to 3rd year associate? The firm also pays annual bonuses, though I have absolutely no idea what range to expect.

posted annonymously to keep from outing myself

[Anonymous User]

Also very, very curious about this. I'm likely going to be doing 1L SAs with some southern firms paying in the 100-120 range, but can't seem to find any salary/bonus info on them. Is it available at all online or is this the kind of thing one needs to network to figure out?

[Anonymous User]

Depends so frickin much on the market and firm. In my target 2ndary it varies from 20k a year to just above the rate of inflation.

I have noticed that it tracks selectivity pretty closely unless killer partnership prospects compensate for the lack of progression.

[chitown825]

Also very, very curious about this. I'm likely going to be doing 1L SAs with some southern firms paying in the 100-120 range, but can't seem to find any salary/bonus info on them. Is it available at all online or is this the kind of thing one needs to network to figure out?

1. Being a 1L summer associate is never likely unless your father is a Supreme Court justice.
2. Networking is a buzz word they use to keep 1Ls docile once they realize there are no jobs.

But yeah, curious about the original post

[Anonymous User]

Also very, very curious about this. I'm likely going to be doing 1L SAs with some southern firms paying in the 100-120 range, but can't seem to find any salary/bonus info on them. Is it available at all online or is this the kind of thing one needs to network to figure out?

1. Being a 1L summer associate is never likely unless your father is a Supreme Court justice.
2. Networking is a buzz word they use to keep 1Ls docile once they realize there are no jobs.

But yeah, curious about the original post

Wrong. I already have one 1L SA offer. T14 with good grades and ties works in markets where they hire 1Ls. I have interviews scheduled with 4 more firms in market, expecting 2 more interviews to be scheduled after updating with grades.
Also, networking for the sole purpose of getting a job isn't effective. Networking for professional information is effective, but it's sensitive to ask about salary info.

Still curious about secondary market salary info for large firms, as well.

[Veyron]

Also very, very curious about this. I'm likely going to be doing 1L SAs with some southern firms paying in the 100-120 range, but can't seem to find any salary/bonus info on them. Is it available at all online or is this the kind of thing one needs to network to figure out?

1. Being a 1L summer associate is never likely unless your father is a Supreme Court justice.
2. Networking is a buzz word they use to keep 1Ls docile once they realize there are no jobs.

But yeah, curious about the original post

Wrong. I already have one 1L SA offer. T14 with good grades and ties works in markets where they hire 1Ls. I have interviews scheduled with 4 more firms in market, expecting 2 more interviews to be scheduled after updating with grades.
Also, networking for the sole purpose of getting a job isn't effective. Networking for professional information is effective, but it's sensitive to ask about salary info.

Still curious about secondary market salary info for large firms, as well.

Greedy associates used to post this, even if the info is a few years old you can still probably bet that increases remain roughly the same proportions of base salary and extrapolate.

Also curious, how high in the class did you need to be to nab this?

[chitown825]

I found this example of a V100 firm's lockstep table

Code: Select all

Class I – $160,000
Class II – $170,000
Class III – $185,000
Class IV – $210,000
Class V – $230,000
Class VI – $250,000
Counsel I – $265,000
Counsel II – $280,000
Counsel III – $290,000

I just want to see something similar for the large secondary market firms, which still have 300-500 lawyers but are located in places like Nashville instead of New York.

[Anonymous User]

Also very, very curious about this. I'm likely going to be doing 1L SAs with some southern firms paying in the 100-120 range, but can't seem to find any salary/bonus info on them. Is it available at all online or is this the kind of thing one needs to network to figure out?

1. Being a 1L summer associate is never likely unless your father is a Supreme Court justice.
2. Networking is a buzz word they use to keep 1Ls docile once they realize there are no jobs.

But yeah, curious about the original post

Wrong. I already have one 1L SA offer. T14 with good grades and ties works in markets where they hire 1Ls. I have interviews scheduled with 4 more firms in market, expecting 2 more interviews to be scheduled after updating with grades.
Also, networking for the sole purpose of getting a job isn't effective. Networking for professional information is effective, but it's sensitive to ask about salary info.

Still curious about secondary market salary info for large firms, as well.

Greedy associates used to post this, even if the info is a few years old you can still probably bet that increases remain roughly the same proportions of base salary and extrapolate.

Also curious, how high in the class did you need to be to nab this?

Well, I'm not sure exactly where I stand. I have a 3.75 after one semester on a 3.3 curve, so I'm guessing I'm pretty far up rank-wise. However, the firms seem much more concerned about local ties than grades. They want to make sure one's grades are basically capable, then they look for ties/fit after that I suppose. The one offer I have isn't a top choice, so I don't really know how things will pan out in the end, but I'm confident.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah I go to a law school which is the only school in this mid-sized city. There are about 5 law firms with 150+ attorneys. Only one firm hired a 1L summer associate, and they hired her before we received any grades whatsoever. It was some girl who had lived in this town her whole life, so she probably knew somebody or did something sexual

[Aqualibrium]

Yeah I go to a law school which is the only school in this mid-sized city. There are about 5 law firms with 150+ attorneys. Only one firm hired a 1L summer associate, and they hired her before we received any grades whatsoever. It was some girl who had lived in this town her whole life, so she probably knew somebody or did something sexual

Please out this poster...