What salary are you looking for Forum

[elegally]

Realistically, what annual salary are you expecting to have:

a) within a year of graduating

b) at the peak of your career.


I only ask because I'm trying to gauge the profitability of my family's firm. Thanks in advance for your responses!

[Patriot1208]

What people are hoping to get has absolutely nothing to do with the profitability of your familys firm.

[elegally]

Hoping has nothing to do with expecting. I'm hoping for some good answers. Based on your response, I'm expecting to receive a few like yours.

[bdubs]

Go crazy on here, but read a few posts about the prospects of getting a biglaw job first.

http://careers.abovethelaw.com/

[Patriot1208]

Hoping and expecting are very closely linked in most peoples minds. Do you want salary information? Because what you are asking makes almost zero sense. What you will make at your families firm is independant of what others are going to make. The market salary right now for biglaw is 160k with increases that will lead to 220k+. But the prospects of getting biglaw are so low that the vast majority of lawyers make less than a hundred k. And many of these people that make biglaw won't make that type of money their whole career and only a very small percentage will make much more than that.

[elegally]

Hoping and expecting are very closely linked in most peoples minds. Do you want salary information? Because what you are asking makes almost zero sense. What you will make at your families firm is independant of what others are going to make. The market salary right now for biglaw is 160k with increases that will lead to 220k+. But the prospects of getting biglaw are so low that the vast majority of lawyers make less than a hundred k. And many of these people that make biglaw won't make that type of money their whole career and only a very small percentage will make much more than that.

I see what you mean. I should have phrased it this way. I am trying to figure out if what I am expecting to make at our firm is on par with what others are expecting to make during the beginning of their careers and at the peak of their careers. I have relative figures for both these periods on my end and I am curious about how they stack up with others' expectations.

[Patriot1208]

Hoping and expecting are very closely linked in most peoples minds. Do you want salary information? Because what you are asking makes almost zero sense. What you will make at your families firm is independant of what others are going to make. The market salary right now for biglaw is 160k with increases that will lead to 220k+. But the prospects of getting biglaw are so low that the vast majority of lawyers make less than a hundred k. And many of these people that make biglaw won't make that type of money their whole career and only a very small percentage will make much more than that.

I see what you mean. I should have phrased it this way. I am trying to figure out if what I am expecting to make at our firm is on par with what others are expecting to make during the beginning of their careers and at the peak of their careers. I have relative figures for both these periods on my end and I am curious about how they stack up with others' expectations.

Ok,

http://www.elsblog.org/.shared/image.ht ... imodal.jpg

that is a survery of 22k+ lawyers in 2007. They specifically state they excluded some really high outliers. As you can see, there is a large gap in income from those at the top and those at the bottom. And it isn't that those at the top are experienced and those at the bottom aren't. It's that those at the top got biglaw or comparable and those at the bottom didn't. Getting biglaw is extremely tough these days, even for the top schools in the country. As you can see over half of lawyers make less than 70k per year.

[usuaggie]

Realistically, what annual salary are you expecting to have:

a) within a year of graduating

b) at the peak of your career.


I only ask because I'm trying to gauge the profitability of my family's firm. Thanks in advance for your responses!

hoping for 70-75 k right away
120-150 by peak.

[pocket herc]

Isn't that chart only describing the income for first year associates?

Op, if things work out I will make 60-70k in a secondary (small city) market to start.

As far as peak of my career expectations, well, partners at the firm I am working at this summer do well, though I have no idea exactly how well. If I could have a consistent income of 150k at some point I'd be incredibly happy, and would be fine with much less.

[r6_philly]

Hoping for
180/350

Expecting
160/300

Fall back
130/200

Well hoping for 1m+ if I can get my consulting firm going.

[serdog]

within a year of grad $45,000-$50,000 (note I plan to working in cross boarder so this would be articling year ie graded by not a lawyer might even hope for more since I will have the call in the states ) up to $70,000 following being called to the bar hoping to top out at close to $250,000 although I do hope to go into politics so..

[Fred_McGriff]

Hoping for $8.50 an hour plus tips, I'd go down to $7.50 if they're cool with me drinking on the job.

[HeavenWood]

Law salaries are a funny thing. Associates at my father's Philly MidLaw start out at 125k. If they're happy sticking as associates, they max out at just under 200k. If they take the plunge and become partners, they can break seven figures if they bring in big business. If they fail to do so, they can drop down to five. This is happening to a lot of my father's partners (including some with 10+ years of experience) because of the state of today's economy.

[D. H2Oman]

Hoping for $8.50 an hour plus tips, I'd go down to $7.50 if they're cool with me drinking on the job.

Same for me but I'm gunning for $9.75, because I don't have royalties from Tom Emanski's "Mechanics of the Major League Swing"* coming my way.




*Produced back to back to back AAU National Champions!

[yepyep]

Same for me but I'm gunning for $9.75, because I don't have royalties from Tom Emanski's "Mechanics of the Major League Swing"* coming my way.




*Produced back to back to back AAU National Champions![/quote]

Awesome

[Renzo]

Hoping has nothing to do with expecting. I'm hoping for some good answers. Based on your response, I'm expecting to receive a few like yours.

I predict this will be the best post this poster ever puts up.

[OrdinarilySkilled]

What salary are you looking for?*

*Serious answers indicate you are more than likely a db.

[Rawlberto]

Why don't you just ask your family?

[OmbreGracieuse]

I would love 90k+ to start, but with the economy most people will start betweek 60k-75k unless they do big law (but that seldom happens). At the peak of my career, I'd love to break 150k a year.

Honestly though, it depends on 1. where you live, 2. what kind of law firm you work for, and 3. the overall economy.

You might want to make a lot of money, but if no one has money to pay, it isn't going to happen. I genuinely believe if you are a lawyer solely for the money, you are in school for all the wrong reasons. It seems to pay a little less each year.

[theavrock]

Why don't you just ask your family?

[reasonable_man]

What salary are you looking for?*

*Serious answers indicate you are more than likely a db.

Why?

[JOThompson]

A.) 35k
B.) 60k

I'm allowed to have low expectations since my projected debt upon graduation is relatively small.

[JazzOne]

A. $160K+
B. $500K (I really have no idea what the upward mobility is, so this is a guess.)

[Borhas]

40k
125k

[JakeL]

80K
250K+

I guess it depends what field of law you are getting into/type of work, but starting at <$70k would be pretty hard to swallow for me considering I make over 60K as a paralegal right now.