What are BigLaw "perks"? Forum

[hdr]

Family planning and parental leave. Biglaw firms have really stepped up, with a number of firms now offering free egg freezing and fertility treatments. Big law maternal leave is also comparatively generous, with most firms offering 5 months with full pay.

How about paternal leave? My fiance is going to be a medial resident so it's much easier for me to take leave than her. Do most firms offer equal paternal leave to maternal leave?

I think most firms have gender neutral parental leave policies now. At some firms (but not all) you will have to verify that you are the "primary caregiver" to be eligible for 12-18 weeks leave, but that's it.

[Anonymous User]

I just joined a big law firm and I don't quite get the concierge service. What exactly do people use it for? Like chores around the house? Or more like hotel concierge with bookings, etc.?

Also is private banking legit? (Not legit as in legal, but is there a meaningful difference?)

Highlighting this because more people need to take advantage of private banking when their firms offer it. Private banking provides extremely low mortgage rates and only requires a 10% down payment (I got a 2.65% rate on a 30-year fixed loan when I bought my place two years ago). The mortgage application process is also way faster with private banking because they have a relationship with your firm. Instead of providing bank statements and tax returns and waiting for some loan officer to process/verify that information, the bank just checked that I was still on my firm's website.

[Anonymous User]

Although this is firm dependent, quite a few places allow after tax contributions to your 401(k) that you can then convert into a backdoor Roth IRA. This is imho the most underrated perk and it always surprises me that people don't consider this when choosing where to work, since it is worth so much money in the long term.

Does your firm allow you to do Mega Back Door Roth? If so, how much can you do?

Yes, 29k in addition to the standard 19.5k annually.

[FF2020]

Another "perk" is honestly just the fact that associate comp is lockstep.

Definitely true & underappreciated. In my pre-law career it was fairly common to miss out on many thousands of $$ (both in base salary + bonus proration) while waiting on HR to coordinate the transitions required for promotions into other teams. Not to mention those who were on slower promotion "tracks" than others in the first place.

Absolutely - one of the reasons I like firms with no hours requirements for bonuses, since I knew comp wouldn't be a bunfight/means of comparing yourself with others. (They were also often the firms with actual four-week leave policies, rather than "unlimited vacation" which meant clutching your prayer beads in the hope that you could get to your grandmother's 90th birthday party.) Financially, too, the meal allowances, car services, etc add up (especially if your firm pays your AmEx directly rather than reimbursing you).

Otherwise: bright people; a network of people who go on to pretty amazing things in the profession, in many cases (truest if you start in a biggish class of first years); and name recognition for the rest of your career for going through something most lawyers in the world either won't achieve or can't handle.

(The sense of arrogance that you might pick up despite your best intentions, and the difficulty you have when encountering people who haven't been trained in the same way as you have aren't so much perks as professional hazards.)

[cheaptilts]

Not an actual "perk" but easy to underestimate until you don't have it anymore: you tend to work with and across from people who are bright and (generally) share the same sense of urgency/ level of commitment. Of course this also is the reason why biglaw can be miserable, but it's nice to have at least a good chunk of juniors who "get it" (or can figure it out) and you can trust to run with tasks without micromanaging.

Extremely underrated post

[Anonymous User]

I just joined a big law firm and I don't quite get the concierge service. What exactly do people use it for? Like chores around the house? Or more like hotel concierge with bookings, etc.?

Also is private banking legit? (Not legit as in legal, but is there a meaningful difference?)

Highlighting this because more people need to take advantage of private banking when their firms offer it. Private banking provides extremely low mortgage rates and only requires a 10% down payment (I got a 2.65% rate on a 30-year fixed loan when I bought my place two years ago). The mortgage application process is also way faster with private banking because they have a relationship with your firm. Instead of providing bank statements and tax returns and waiting for some loan officer to process/verify that information, the bank just checked that I was still on my firm's website.

So how does this work? My understanding is that it's the sellers that require a 20% down payment. If you can't find a seller that accepts a 10% down payment then does private banking help at all?

[Anonymous User]

Generally, sellers don’t care about percentage down - they get paid regardless. They care about the total price you’re offering. It’s whoever’s financing the mortgage who cares about percentage down, which means the private banker your biglaw firm uses.

(If the real estate market is especially hot and sellers have lots of offers to choose from, they may consider something like percentage down (for instance, they may take an all-cash offer over other offers), but that also doesn’t mean the buyer actually has/pays all cash (it can, but you can get financing to be able to make an all cash offer).)

The issue with less than 20% down is that with most lenders you will be paying mortgage insurance and, of course, the less you put down, the higher your mortgage payment is, so you will be able to afford less house than if you have a bigger down payment. But that matters to you and the lender, not the seller.

[Anonymous User]

Not sure if it’s possible for all but I got a separate loan with an IRA account as collateral to get 20% down payment. The interest rate on that loan was actually a little lower than the mortgage rate and I didn’t have to pay mortgage insurance.

[Anonymous User]

Not an actual "perk" but easy to underestimate until you don't have it anymore: you tend to work with and across from people who are bright and (generally) share the same sense of urgency/ level of commitment. Of course this also is the reason why biglaw can be miserable, but it's nice to have at least a good chunk of juniors who "get it" (or can figure it out) and you can trust to run with tasks without micromanaging.

Extremely underrated post

This is one of the biggest reasons I couldn’t stand big 4. Working with people who think responding with “I can’t get to this until Monday” on Thursday afternoon for something very simple and actually time sensitive drove me insane.

I went to big 4 partly for fabled work/life balance. Once there, I realized I am more of a work/life integration guy and other people’s balance gave me ulcers. At one point I was so stressed out thinking about when to follow up I literally bled in my ears because my blood pressure got so high and I was on allergy meds. I hustled back to ibanking.

I hated the substance of biglaw work but people are wayyyy more efficient, in general, and much less prone to waste your time.

[Best]

Generally, sellers don’t care about percentage down - they get paid regardless. They care about the total price you’re offering. It’s whoever’s financing the mortgage who cares about percentage down, which means the private banker your biglaw firm uses.

(If the real estate market is especially hot and sellers have lots of offers to choose from, they may consider something like percentage down (for instance, they may take an all-cash offer over other offers), but that also doesn’t mean the buyer actually has/pays all cash (it can, but you can get financing to be able to make an all cash offer).)

The issue with less than 20% down is that with most lenders you will be paying mortgage insurance and, of course, the less you put down, the higher your mortgage payment is, so you will be able to afford less house than if you have a bigger down payment. But that matters to you and the lender, not the seller.

Sellers do care about your downpayment, even when the market isn't hot (unless it's a true buyer market). Higher downpayment typically means the buyer is more cash flush, which makes them less likely to have issues getting the mortgage across the finish line, more likely to be able to put up additional cash (or lower the downpayment) if the appraisal comes in low, and less likely to nickel and dime the inspection period.

Also, while we're not necessarily talking about JD loans, know that those took a huge hit during Covid and haven't fully come back. They're non-conforming and one of the first things that lenders dropped when they were reducing their risk.

Too many anon posts in here for no reason.

[nixy]

Generally, sellers don’t care about percentage down - they get paid regardless. They care about the total price you’re offering. It’s whoever’s financing the mortgage who cares about percentage down, which means the private banker your biglaw firm uses.

(If the real estate market is especially hot and sellers have lots of offers to choose from, they may consider something like percentage down (for instance, they may take an all-cash offer over other offers), but that also doesn’t mean the buyer actually has/pays all cash (it can, but you can get financing to be able to make an all cash offer).)

The issue with less than 20% down is that with most lenders you will be paying mortgage insurance and, of course, the less you put down, the higher your mortgage payment is, so you will be able to afford less house than if you have a bigger down payment. But that matters to you and the lender, not the seller.

Sellers do care about your downpayment, even when the market isn't hot (unless it's a true buyer market). Higher downpayment typically means the buyer is more cash flush, which makes them less likely to have issues getting the mortgage across the finish line, more likely to be able to put up additional cash (or lower the downpayment) if the appraisal comes in low, and less likely to nickel and dime the inspection period.

Also, while we're not necessarily talking about JD loans, know that those took a huge hit during Covid and haven't fully come back. They're non-conforming and one of the first things that lenders dropped when they were reducing their risk.

Too many anon posts in here for no reason.

(Accidentally anon above.) That's fair, and all else equal, a higher down payment is definitely going to look better than a lower one, but I know plenty of people who've bought putting 10% down (and more who put down between 10 and 20%). I don't think it's as straightforward as all sellers "requiring" 20% and not being able to find a seller that will accept 10% down. It will depend on the market and who else you're competing with for the property. My point was more that the lender can make a big difference in what you can buy (for instance, it's not the seller that imposes mortgage insurance, it's the lender).

I'm also not saying that the private banking is some kind of major material perk for most people/at most firms, just commenting on the question about buying.

[lawdude31]

Family planning and parental leave. Biglaw firms have really stepped up, with a number of firms now offering free egg freezing and fertility treatments. Big law maternal leave is also comparatively generous, with most firms offering 5 months with full pay.

How about paternal leave? My fiance is going to be a medial resident so it's much easier for me to take leave than her. Do most firms offer equal paternal leave to maternal leave?

I think most firms have gender neutral parental leave policies now. At some firms (but not all) you will have to verify that you are the "primary caregiver" to be eligible for 12-18 weeks leave, but that's it.

How does one verify they are the "primary caregiver" with 2 working parents. My SO isn't in Biglaw so I work more. But we split drop-off/pickup at day care and both to bath time/bedtime.

[Anonymous User]

Question re the private banking option. Do you avoid paying a PMI if you go that route even if you only put 10% down? That would be great, if true.

[notinbiglaw]

My experience with Chase was they really want that PMI for jumbo mortgages even after I showed them enough liquid assets to buy the apartment out right. Ended up borrowing against a retirement account to get 20% down.

[Anonymous User]

What are the benefits of private banking other than low interest rates on mortgages?

[Bosque]

Family planning and parental leave. Biglaw firms have really stepped up, with a number of firms now offering free egg freezing and fertility treatments. Big law maternal leave is also comparatively generous, with most firms offering 5 months with full pay.

How about paternal leave? My fiance is going to be a medial resident so it's much easier for me to take leave than her. Do most firms offer equal paternal leave to maternal leave?

I think most firms have gender neutral parental leave policies now. At some firms (but not all) you will have to verify that you are the "primary caregiver" to be eligible for 12-18 weeks leave, but that's it.

How does one verify they are the "primary caregiver" with 2 working parents. My SO isn't in Biglaw so I work more. But we split drop-off/pickup at day care and both to bath time/bedtime.

Pretty sure you just say you are. Which is part of the reason most policies are gender neutral now. It's dumb to make HR try and decide this, and the potential liability exposure for discrimination lawsuits isn't worth the small cost savings.

The other reason being of course that its the right thing to do and picking a "primary" caregiver is a pretty outdated idea, but that alone likely wouldn't be enough for all companies/firms.