If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw? Forum

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Oct 01, 2015 12:55 am

What would it take for biglaw to not be worth it? A SO who makes 6 figures, no debt, and enough money from family in your own name/accounts for a down payment on a house? A million dollars? Genuinely curious. At what point is it advisable to pursue something like midlaw, a 90k Big 4 job, consulting etc.?

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:42 am

If you already went to law school then you should do biglaw since it's where the best opportunity lies. If you already have all that money then just don't go to law school.

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ggocat

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by ggocat » Thu Oct 01, 2015 10:25 am

los blancos wrote:
ggocat wrote:. I imagine it's more tolerable psychologically if you know you can quit any time you want.
I can?
Aren't you trying to cop dat USAO? Come into the light.

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by dixiecupdrinking » Thu Oct 01, 2015 12:46 pm

Anonymous User wrote:What would it take for biglaw to not be worth it? A SO who makes 6 figures, no debt, and enough money from family in your own name/accounts for a down payment on a house? A million dollars? Genuinely curious. At what point is it advisable to pursue something like midlaw, a 90k Big 4 job, consulting etc.?
It's not the debt or the salary that make big law appealing, so much as it is the ease of getting a job and the certainty of having something lined up by the start of 2L. So I'm not sure that having no debt or a lot of money in the bank makes much difference in how appealing it is.

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by BrokenMouse » Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:08 pm

lol
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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by BrokenMouse » Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:13 pm

lol
Last edited by BrokenMouse on Thu Apr 28, 2016 4:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by A. Nony Mouse » Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:14 pm

BrokenMouse wrote:
flawschoolkid wrote:I don't want to make a lot of money, just enough. But finding an opportunity that isn't biglaw that isn't SPS is motherfucking hard. Much harder than biglaw. I'm trying, but I might fail. If I do, biglaw for me.
SPS = ?
Shit pure shit.

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by seashell.economy » Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:19 pm

I hate debt, won't have family obligations post-law school, don't have relationship obligations, want to buy a house, and love devoting myself to work and centering that work as the primary part of my life. I think I would do well in big law.
Last edited by seashell.economy on Thu Jan 21, 2016 10:35 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by los blancos » Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:25 pm

ggocat wrote:
los blancos wrote:
ggocat wrote:. I imagine it's more tolerable psychologically if you know you can quit any time you want.
I can?
Aren't you trying to cop dat USAO? Come into the light.
1000x easier said than done

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BrokenMouse

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by BrokenMouse » Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:53 pm

goof
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El Pollito

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by El Pollito » Thu Oct 01, 2015 4:17 pm

BrokenMouse wrote:Poor immigrant working class pleb here. Went to T1 school full ride + private schollies. Living at home with mommy and daddy helped. $0 debt.

Took a shit pay job as bar-pending law-clerk making $20 an hour at a small firm in hopes of getting some good substantive work experience.

A few minutes ago my boss realized he missed a deadline for filing opposition to MSJ... this is in lieu of opposing counsel calling him out in a different case for using pre-Celotex MSJ standard...

i dont even.......

im in it for a short-term here until I bail at the first biglaw offer. Why? for the money and some prestige so that I can save up for maybe 3-5 years and do bizniz. BOOM $$$ millionaire.

not srs. just wanna do bizniz and make good product for good pplz.
wut

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by dixiecupdrinking » Thu Oct 01, 2015 4:30 pm

El Pollito wrote:
BrokenMouse wrote:Poor immigrant working class pleb here. Went to T1 school full ride + private schollies. Living at home with mommy and daddy helped. $0 debt.

Took a shit pay job as bar-pending law-clerk making $20 an hour at a small firm in hopes of getting some good substantive work experience.

A few minutes ago my boss realized he missed a deadline for filing opposition to MSJ... this is in lieu of opposing counsel calling him out in a different case for using pre-Celotex MSJ standard...

i dont even.......

im in it for a short-term here until I bail at the first biglaw offer. Why? for the money and some prestige so that I can save up for maybe 3-5 years and do bizniz. BOOM $$$ millionaire.

not srs. just wanna do bizniz and make good product for good pplz.
wut
the way to big law is striking out at OCI and missing filing deadlines at a small firm

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by BrokenMouse » Thu Oct 01, 2015 5:07 pm

goof
Last edited by BrokenMouse on Fri Oct 02, 2015 12:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by abl » Thu Oct 01, 2015 5:36 pm

krads153 wrote:
Desert Fox wrote:
krads153 wrote:
Desert Fox wrote:When you get to biglaw, you are UMC. Why aren't you taking Greek vacations?
Not really, imo, at least for places like NYC/SF. Also I think net worth is more important than income (since that could end at any second). If you have a lot of debt, and are still negative net worth, you're not UMC.
I dunno, two years in and I'm making 200k. Next year I'll make 240k. You can afford a fucking Greek vacation.
Ok, true, but that still doesn't make you UMC in places like NYC/SF. Also anyone can go on a Greek vacation - you don't need to be UMC to do that.
The median household income of NYC is $50,000. If you are a single adult making over three times that, you're at a very minimum upper middle class.

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ggocat

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by ggocat » Thu Oct 01, 2015 5:41 pm

BrokenMouse wrote:
dixiecupdrinking wrote: the way to big law is striking out at OCI and missing filing deadlines at a small firm
brah keyword: "my boss"

im srs out of here as soon as i pass the bar. it was either this or volunteer until nov. but i agree what happened here was a....
I read the "wut" as how are you getting biglaw when it appears that ship has sailed. Sure, sometimes it happens, but it's unlikely to go straight from shitlaw to biglaw.

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El Pollito

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by El Pollito » Thu Oct 01, 2015 5:49 pm

ggocat wrote:
BrokenMouse wrote:
dixiecupdrinking wrote: the way to big law is striking out at OCI and missing filing deadlines at a small firm
brah keyword: "my boss"

im srs out of here as soon as i pass the bar. it was either this or volunteer until nov. but i agree what happened here was a....
I read the "wut" as how are you getting biglaw when it appears that ship has sailed. Sure, sometimes it happens, but it's unlikely to go straight from shitlaw to biglaw.
it was a few questions

the post was incoherent/mentally unstable sounding (maybe fob)

why would you make fun of your boss' fuck ups when they are also your fuck ups by association?

and the biglaw delusion joke

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by star fox » Thu Oct 01, 2015 6:01 pm

abl wrote:
krads153 wrote:
Desert Fox wrote:
krads153 wrote:
Desert Fox wrote:When you get to biglaw, you are UMC. Why aren't you taking Greek vacations?
Not really, imo, at least for places like NYC/SF. Also I think net worth is more important than income (since that could end at any second). If you have a lot of debt, and are still negative net worth, you're not UMC.
I dunno, two years in and I'm making 200k. Next year I'll make 240k. You can afford a fucking Greek vacation.
Ok, true, but that still doesn't make you UMC in places like NYC/SF. Also anyone can go on a Greek vacation - you don't need to be UMC to do that.
The median household income of NYC is $50,000. If you are a single adult making over three times that, you're at a very minimum upper middle class.
Expenses tend to rise to meet income, so good chance you'll never actually "feel" rich no matter how much you end up making.

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DFTHREAD

Post by Desert Fox » Thu Oct 01, 2015 6:05 pm

Image
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Monochromatic Oeuvre

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by Monochromatic Oeuvre » Thu Oct 01, 2015 7:31 pm

Anonymous User wrote:What would it take for biglaw to not be worth it? A SO who makes 6 figures, no debt, and enough money from family in your own name/accounts for a down payment on a house? A million dollars? Genuinely curious. At what point is it advisable to pursue something like midlaw, a 90k Big 4 job, consulting etc.?
Gut instinct for me was $1M in NYC, less in flyover. That's only because anything else (attainable) is a HUGE step down money salary-wise.

After a couple years in Biglaw when you finally get non-Biglaw six figure positions open to you, the number is much lower. I'm still planning on holding on as long as possible until the talk/100% burnout, but a down payment on whatever kind of place you want to live in is a major inflection point.

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by Jakobe » Thu Oct 01, 2015 8:28 pm

star fox wrote:
abl wrote:
krads153 wrote:
Desert Fox wrote:
krads153 wrote:
Desert Fox wrote:When you get to biglaw, you are UMC. Why aren't you taking Greek vacations?
Not really, imo, at least for places like NYC/SF. Also I think net worth is more important than income (since that could end at any second). If you have a lot of debt, and are still negative net worth, you're not UMC.
I dunno, two years in and I'm making 200k. Next year I'll make 240k. You can afford a fucking Greek vacation.
Ok, true, but that still doesn't make you UMC in places like NYC/SF. Also anyone can go on a Greek vacation - you don't need to be UMC to do that.
The median household income of NYC is $50,000. If you are a single adult making over three times that, you're at a very minimum upper middle class.
Expenses tend to rise to meet income, so good chance you'll never actually "feel" rich no matter how much you end up making.
Nothing is stopping you from living in a shit hole in queens and acting like you only make $30k per year. Sure, your expenses go up but don't act like your money suddenly vanishes. You spend it on countless amenities that the person making $50k in NYC can't.

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by UnicornHunter » Thu Oct 01, 2015 8:57 pm

Jakobe wrote:
star fox wrote:
abl wrote:
krads153 wrote:
Desert Fox wrote:
krads153 wrote:
Desert Fox wrote:When you get to biglaw, you are UMC. Why aren't you taking Greek vacations?
Not really, imo, at least for places like NYC/SF. Also I think net worth is more important than income (since that could end at any second). If you have a lot of debt, and are still negative net worth, you're not UMC.
I dunno, two years in and I'm making 200k. Next year I'll make 240k. You can afford a fucking Greek vacation.
Ok, true, but that still doesn't make you UMC in places like NYC/SF. Also anyone can go on a Greek vacation - you don't need to be UMC to do that.
The median household income of NYC is $50,000. If you are a single adult making over three times that, you're at a very minimum upper middle class.
Expenses tend to rise to meet income, so good chance you'll never actually "feel" rich no matter how much you end up making.
Nothing is stopping you from living in a shit hole in queens and acting like you only make $30k per year. Sure, your expenses go up but don't act like your money suddenly vanishes. You spend it on countless amenities that the person making $50k in NYC can't.
I mean yes, there's a lot stopping you from living in a shit hole in queens and acting like you only make $30k per year.

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by seashell.economy » Thu Oct 01, 2015 9:41 pm

Anonymous User wrote:It is generally a good investment for the parents to pay for their children to go to a top law school. Over the course of their career they're likely to make the costs back and much more especially if they were a liberal arts major.

Also, and this is anecdotal, but I got the impression that those from wealthy families outperform their grades. It probably has something to do with talking the talk and walking the walk, and being less nervous at interviews because there is less on the line (they will be wealthy or upper middle class regardless). As others have said, most of the really, really wealthy people are going to have a lucrative business or a lot of real estate, and if their child can get into a top law school then they're likely going to be smart enough to take over the business or manage the portfolio.
You should read 'The Chosen' - it's about how the wealthy mold their children through educational pipelines, especially at Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton.

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by BrokenMouse » Fri Oct 02, 2015 12:58 am

lol
Last edited by BrokenMouse on Thu Apr 28, 2016 4:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by star fox » Fri Oct 02, 2015 1:16 am

Jakobe wrote:
star fox wrote:
abl wrote:
krads153 wrote:
Desert Fox wrote:
krads153 wrote:
Desert Fox wrote:When you get to biglaw, you are UMC. Why aren't you taking Greek vacations?
Not really, imo, at least for places like NYC/SF. Also I think net worth is more important than income (since that could end at any second). If you have a lot of debt, and are still negative net worth, you're not UMC.
I dunno, two years in and I'm making 200k. Next year I'll make 240k. You can afford a fucking Greek vacation.
Ok, true, but that still doesn't make you UMC in places like NYC/SF. Also anyone can go on a Greek vacation - you don't need to be UMC to do that.
The median household income of NYC is $50,000. If you are a single adult making over three times that, you're at a very minimum upper middle class.
Expenses tend to rise to meet income, so good chance you'll never actually "feel" rich no matter how much you end up making.
Nothing is stopping you from living in a shit hole in queens and acting like you only make $30k per year. Sure, your expenses go up but don't act like your money suddenly vanishes. You spend it on countless amenities that the person making $50k in NYC can't.
I'm just saying why people who earn in the top 2% of income don't feel wealthy psychologically despite objective evidence to the contrary.

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Re: If you graduated without debt, would you still do BigLaw?

Post by twenty 8 » Fri Oct 02, 2015 1:24 am

I graduated with zero debt (free rider). Luckily landed at a successful large firm in my Fla hometown (but not biglaw). I guesstimated that I was making 30k less than a biglaw salary, flash forward 2 years, biglaw is now paying 190k, thus the disparity is now 60k. I still wouldn’t give up my lifestyle for just the status of a biglaw letterhead but I am not certain if I would feel the same if I had the burden of setting fire to two or three thousand every month to cover tuition.

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