Are biglaw associates wildly underpaid? Forum

[mountaintime]

Lol. Associates are overpaid. Without your firm, you're worth about $60k/yr.

[bbsg]

http://www.givingwhatwecan.org/get-invo ... -rich-am-i

Just sayin'.

[DELG]

http://www.givingwhatwecan.org/get-invo ... -rich-am-i

Just sayin'.

Yeah... except student loan debt. But I do give away 10% post-SL, post-tax, post-childcare, post-rent.

[JamesD]

Before going to law school I concluded that partners made a very nice living (tennis courts, stables, pool, etc.) and associates lived very well too. I still feel that way. Work hard, be well paid, but substantially less than the partners but knowing that at some point you will taste the carrot.

The way I see it, what moves you up the rung quicker is talent. That seems to be the missing ingredient when it comes to solely relying on raw data. Yes, one could throw in luck for good measure, which is hard to weigh via stats.

I am speaking of firms with a handful of attorneys (100 or less). Maybe big law is much different (mainly because of the number of attorneys in the mix). Anyhow, I like the system that is in place. Pay well now and much more later on.

[JCougar]

Before going to law school I concluded that partners made a very nice living (tennis courts, stables, pool, etc.) and associates lived very well too. I still feel that way. Work hard, be well paid, but substantially less than the partners but knowing that at some point you will taste the carrot.

The way I see it, what moves you up the rung quicker is talent. That seems to be the missing ingredient when it comes to solely relying on raw data. Yes, one could throw in luck for good measure, which is hard to weigh via stats.

I am speaking of firms with a handful of attorneys (100 or less). Maybe big law is much different (mainly because of the number of attorneys in the mix). Anyhow, I like the system that is in place. Pay well now and much more later on.

Of course, it depends on the market, but your chances of making partner are very low, regardless of talent. People who make partner are people who can bring in business. If you want to call that a talent, fine.

[minnbills]

Before going to law school I concluded that partners made a very nice living (tennis courts, stables, pool, etc.) and associates lived very well too. I still feel that way. Work hard, be well paid, but substantially less than the partners but knowing that at some point you will taste the carrot.

The way I see it, what moves you up the rung quicker is talent. That seems to be the missing ingredient when it comes to solely relying on raw data. Yes, one could throw in luck for good measure, which is hard to weigh via stats.

I am speaking of firms with a handful of attorneys (100 or less). Maybe big law is much different (mainly because of the number of attorneys in the mix). Anyhow, I like the system that is in place. Pay well now and much more later on.

I'm excited to see where this guys at in 3 years.

[84651846190]

Before going to law school I concluded that partners made a very nice living (tennis courts, stables, pool, etc.) and associates lived very well too. I still feel that way. Work hard, be well paid, but substantially less than the partners but knowing that at some point you will taste the carrot.

The way I see it, what moves you up the rung quicker is talent. That seems to be the missing ingredient when it comes to solely relying on raw data. Yes, one could throw in luck for good measure, which is hard to weigh via stats.

I am speaking of firms with a handful of attorneys (100 or less). Maybe big law is much different (mainly because of the number of attorneys in the mix). Anyhow, I like the system that is in place. Pay well now and much more later on.

Luck and people skills play much bigger roles than "talent." There are a shitload of insanely Smart Legal scholars who never make partner, but almost everyone who can bring in business and keep clients happy becomes partner (somewhere). Brilliant legal minds are dime a dozen.

[Holly Golightly]

Also "talent" doesn't bump you up from a first year to a third year associate. Just not how the game works.

[09042014]

Also "talent" doesn't bump you up from a first year to a third year associate. Just not how the game works.

Don't let mestlpanies (Sp?) hear that. He got promoted from 1L SA to head of the London OFfice.

[wingding]

I think you're talking out of your ass to be frank. Clients pay for junior work. And no one (and I think you meant to reference me) is saying prestige is the only thing clients care about. They obviously care about work quality. But if you think they don't expect some correlation between associates' qualifications and the quality of the work, I've got a bridge to sell you. By and large the HLS grad will produce better work than the Pace grad and people know this. Don't let your disdain for the law school prestige chase blind you to the basic realities.[/]

I'll use an anecdote to counter. Company I'm familiar with does legit work that is very close to the border of being a scam. If/when they get into trouble, they hire the biggest/best law firms, and their estimate is that when all's said and done the cost is easily $20k+ for even the smallest little thing, after factoring in various associates, fees, and other crap. They don't give a shit about the quality of work of the lowly associates, hell, they aren't even aware of that shit, they only care about the result.

[mountaintime]

Before going to law school I concluded that partners made a very nice living (tennis courts, stables, pool, etc.) and associates lived very well too. I still feel that way. Work hard, be well paid, but substantially less than the partners but knowing that at some point you will taste the carrot.

The way I see it, what moves you up the rung quicker is talent. That seems to be the missing ingredient when it comes to solely relying on raw data. Yes, one could throw in luck for good measure, which is hard to weigh via stats.

I am speaking of firms with a handful of attorneys (100 or less). Maybe big law is much different (mainly because of the number of attorneys in the mix). Anyhow, I like the system that is in place. Pay well now and much more later on.

I'm excited to see where this guys at in 3 years.

Lol, cr. Upward identification can be a motherfucker.