FlamingDragon wrote:withoutapaddle wrote:Keep in mind that your biglaw take home won't start at 160k if you're in Charlotte, and will be severely decreased by your student loan payments.
What are big law salaries like in Charlotte/South?
Biglaw salaries in Charlotte range. The high is NYC market rates, 160k starting plus 15k bonus for first years. Firms like Dechert, Mayor Brown, Cadwalader, and Winston Strawn pay this rate, with the first 3 at least paying competitive NYC bonuses.
The more typical big law salary range is 145k, with slower, non-NYC raise scales, at places like McGuire Woods, Moore Van Allen, etc. The next lower tier, still very respectable, is around 140k, like Parker Poe and Robinson Bradshaw. I'd say prestige roughly tracks with this tier scale, depending on the industry (with the highest paying guys concentrating on a few specific practice areas).
That said, 145k or even 135-140k in Charlotte puts you in excellent position to live an extremely comfortable life. extrapolate out for the associate positions that give you 175k.
How many total $140k plus first year jobs do you think there are in Charlotte?