LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS Forum

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UVAIce

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Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by UVAIce » Tue May 10, 2016 1:17 pm

Southern Secondary Market
Vault 100
First year, transactional associate
$160K a year with the potential for a bonus (this is fairly rare, from what I understand). The step up in pay for the various class years follows the NYC payscale. But, to be fair, we do not get NYC bonuses.
2000 hours.
My "average" days have me working 9-6:30ish. I will bill a few hours on the weekend to keep myself on track for time. There is is the occasional flurry of craziness (9-9 for a week or two straight) and closing mania at the end of a deal. Fairly few fire drills. My commute, which is a long one for my office, is under 30 minutes. I do most of my work one on one with my partners. I have never been yelled at. Would do law school over again given my current employer.

ballouttacontrol

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Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by ballouttacontrol » Fri May 13, 2016 9:37 am

Anonymous User wrote:first year appellate defender in the non-coastal west - $53k - strict 40 hr weeks - fridays can work remote - REALLY chill work environment
Sounds really chill

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Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by Anonymous User » Wed May 18, 2016 7:07 pm

Abbie Doobie wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Patent law boutique
1st year
Deep south
$180k

Some of the boutique firms around here are offering above market now; from what I hear, it's getting difficult for them to compete with big firms at hiring grads with specific technical backgrounds.
I'd like to know more about what law school you attended and what your technical background was.
i'd be more interested in which firm it is because its extremely difficult to find accurate salary information for patent boutiques
I apologize for the delay in this response. I also apologize for not responding very definitively; this market is extremely small and I'd almost certainly out myself if I told my law school/firm.

I went to a law school that is consistently in the top 50, but is far from a T14. My technical background is electrical engineering (straight electrical; no computer or programming options). My firms is a "big" boutique; we have between 30-50 attorneys and agents. I think most boutiques this size are around 160-180 now.

It is indeed difficult to find accurate salary information for patent boutiques. Some are on NALP (mine is). For others, you can get a good idea by looking at how many attorneys they have. I think around 30 attorneys is when you hit the 160-180 range. A few of our competitors are around 10-20 attorneys and they tend to be in the 120-150 range.

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Nachoo2019

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Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by Nachoo2019 » Wed May 18, 2016 8:46 pm

I know 0Ls are not supposed to post here, but I found this website and it will show you the name and salary of any federal employee(a little creepy, but it's public record!). I think it would be a good resource to have on this thread.

http://www.fedsdatacenter.com/federal-p ... &o=&y=2014

There isn't much 2016 info there, but the 2014 info is solid.

This link is to the FTC.

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p1921

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Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by p1921 » Wed May 18, 2016 9:54 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Abbie Doobie wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Patent law boutique
1st year
Deep south
$180k

Some of the boutique firms around here are offering above market now; from what I hear, it's getting difficult for them to compete with big firms at hiring grads with specific technical backgrounds.
I'd like to know more about what law school you attended and what your technical background was.
i'd be more interested in which firm it is because its extremely difficult to find accurate salary information for patent boutiques
I apologize for the delay in this response. I also apologize for not responding very definitively; this market is extremely small and I'd almost certainly out myself if I told my law school/firm.

I went to a law school that is consistently in the top 50, but is far from a T14. My technical background is electrical engineering (straight electrical; no computer or programming options). My firms is a "big" boutique; we have between 30-50 attorneys and agents. I think most boutiques this size are around 160-180 now.

It is indeed difficult to find accurate salary information for patent boutiques. Some are on NALP (mine is). For others, you can get a good idea by looking at how many attorneys they have. I think around 30 attorneys is when you hit the 160-180 range. A few of our competitors are around 10-20 attorneys and they tend to be in the 120-150 range.
Can you PM me?

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Anonymous User
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Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by Anonymous User » Tue May 24, 2016 7:40 pm

secondary market, small to mid size firm, 5th year associate
$95k base salary
Formulaic bonus based on hours billed over 1500 (1/3 value of hours actually billed to client)
Discretionary bonus at year end (5k last year)

Anonymous User
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Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by Anonymous User » Mon May 30, 2016 11:40 am

a) Public Defender
b) 3rd year attorney, 3rd at job
c) South/Southeastern metro area
d) 51k
e) As a state employ pretty golden defined benefit/pension + health and dental insurance
f) 40 hours, at most

Anonymous User
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Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Jun 02, 2016 2:26 am

1L Summer Associate

22/HR 38-50hrs/week
9 member law firm
Phoenix, AZ
Firm is primarily insurance defense for construction defect, wrongful death, catastrophic bodily injury and professional liability matters. Does a little plaintiffs work
I'm a mediocre student at a good state school. I got the job through connections and its alright, I have a nice office.

barkschool

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Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by barkschool » Fri Jun 03, 2016 8:37 pm

Anonymous User wrote:1L Summer Associate

22/HR 38-50hrs/week
9 member law firm
Phoenix, AZ
Firm is primarily insurance defense for construction defect, wrongful death, catastrophic bodily injury and professional liability matters. Does a little plaintiffs work
I'm a mediocre student at a good state school. I got the job through connections and its alright, I have a nice office.
How's the 401k

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Nebby

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Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by Nebby » Fri Jun 03, 2016 9:47 pm

This should become a spreadsheet not a thread

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adelllla

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Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by adelllla » Mon Jun 06, 2016 10:57 am

Anonymous User wrote:1) PDs Office in large west coast city
2) 2nd year
3) 88k. With set 4k(approximate) annual raises
4) 8% matching 401k/457b
5) Defined pension benefit
6) 8:00 - 4:00/5:00
Could you PM me please?

hellengeek

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Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by hellengeek » Tue Jun 14, 2016 3:45 am

It's good to have an idea of what different kinds of gigs are paying. Also you can figure out which fields to go into or avoid that is your main concern.

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lacrossebrother

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Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by lacrossebrother » Tue Jun 14, 2016 7:45 am

Nebby wrote:This should become a spreadsheet not a thread
Happy to input 2 pages if you wanna distribute the task.

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Anonymous User
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Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Jun 30, 2016 12:11 pm

Anonymous User wrote:150ish lawyer firm mostly in CA. $80,000.00 base with $45,000 bonus this year based on hourly. Workers' Compensation defense. Firm is full service. Second year attorney going into third, expecting 10% raise.
Doubt this anon is still checking back but if so, how are you liking this work? I have a friend who is a first year making 70k at a WC defense firm in NJ, keeps regular hours. Dunno about his bonus structure, if any.

Anonymous User
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Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Jul 03, 2016 11:11 am

Anonymous User wrote:A) Boutique litigation firm (<100 lawyers, even mix of associates and partners)
B) 1.5 years at the firm
C) Major east coast market
D) Base salary is just north of $220k. Bonuses are discretionary. Mine was $30k this year.

I billed ~3100 hours last year. Not sure what my realization rate was on that, but I get the sense it was high.
JFC 3100 hrs. how did you have time to post this?

Anonymous User
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Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Aug 03, 2016 3:25 pm

VP in house, Fortune 200 near DC
7 years at company after 5 years with Latham
$300,000 salary with about $70,000 in bonus when department meets internal goals in addition to competitive package.
Our SVP (my boss) is around $800,000 plus stock bonus
Work 7-6 most days, sometimes later. Never on weekends
I initially took a huge hit in salary (less than half) when I switched from Latham, but it has increased slowly

barkschool

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Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by barkschool » Wed Aug 03, 2016 3:39 pm

Anonymous User wrote:VP in house, Fortune 200 near DC
7 years at company after 5 years with Latham
$300,000 salary with about $70,000 in bonus when department meets internal goals in addition to competitive package.
Our SVP (my boss) is around $800,000 plus stock bonus
Work 7-6 most days, sometimes later. Never on weekends
I initially took a huge hit in salary (less than half) when I switched from Latham, but it has increased slowly
What practice area?

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Anonymous User
Posts: 428117
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Aug 03, 2016 7:05 pm

barkschool wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:VP in house, Fortune 200 near DC
7 years at company after 5 years with Latham
$300,000 salary with about $70,000 in bonus when department meets internal goals in addition to competitive package.
Our SVP (my boss) is around $800,000 plus stock bonus
Work 7-6 most days, sometimes later. Never on weekends
I initially took a huge hit in salary (less than half) when I switched from Latham, but it has increased slowly
What practice area?
Mostly corporate contracts and governance.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428117
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Aug 06, 2016 10:25 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:A) Boutique litigation firm (<100 lawyers, even mix of associates and partners)
B) 1.5 years at the firm
C) Major east coast market
D) Base salary is just north of $220k. Bonuses are discretionary. Mine was $30k this year.

I billed ~3100 hours last year. Not sure what my realization rate was on that, but I get the sense it was high.
JFC 3100 hrs. how did you have time to post this?
He said bill not work.

Anonymous User
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Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Aug 09, 2016 2:26 pm

- 2 Years out of second tier law school. No Law Review. Bad GPA.
- Legal Associate at an investment bank.
- Salary is 97K.
- Bonus is 10-15%.
- 30 vacation days.
- Hours: 9am-7pm.
- Moving to a law firm next year.

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p1921

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Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by p1921 » Tue Aug 09, 2016 4:57 pm

Anonymous User wrote:- 2 Years out of second tier law school. No Law Review. Bad GPA.
- Legal Associate at an investment bank.
- Salary is 97K.
- Bonus is 10-15%.
- 30 vacation days.
- Hours: 9am-7pm.
- Moving to a law firm next year.
Why are you leaving? Assuming you don't have much debt, this seems like a decent gig.

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Danger Zone

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Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by Danger Zone » Tue Aug 09, 2016 6:12 pm

Agreed
Last edited by Danger Zone on Sat Jan 27, 2018 3:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Trig

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Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by Trig » Tue Aug 09, 2016 9:02 pm

Anonymous User wrote:- 2 Years out of second tier law school. No Law Review. Bad GPA.
- Legal Associate at an investment bank.
- Salary is 97K.
- Bonus is 10-15%.
- 30 vacation days.
- Hours: 9am-7pm.
- Moving to a law firm next year.
PM me please.

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Posts: 428117
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Aug 10, 2016 8:07 am

Left big law after 4-6 years, graduated 4-6 years ago
Southern market
MD in a business role at a boutique financial institution
$275k base, top tier benefits, bonus range is low six figures to up to 2.5 times base
8:30-5:30 is typical, leave early most Fridays, light weekend work once or twice a month, 1-2 late nights per month (still home by 8:30), travel a couple days per month.

Danger Zone

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Re: LEGAL SALARY DATAPOINTS

Post by Danger Zone » Wed Aug 10, 2016 9:03 am

:shock:
Last edited by Danger Zone on Sat Jan 27, 2018 3:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

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