NY to 200k?! Forum

[Anonymous User]

umm... so will MoFo drag their feet on this?

[2013]

Maybe some firm lower down the profitability rankings, like goodwin, will raise the bar?

[Anonymous User]

Maybe some firm lower down the profitability rankings, like goodwin, will raise the bar?

Literally who

[Anonymous User]

Let's drop the pointless prestige arguments. All these firms pay first years more than most "elite" law students' parents have ever made. Nobody cares what some lowlife kids think about how prestigious they are.

Bruh the "elite" law school students' parents are the partners who are taking home 7 figures net tax

[Anonymous User]

Jest aside - do PW, STB, GDC have “it”?

If you have to ask...

I mean I’d say STB has “it,” PW not far behind (but not ultra elite), and GDC lagging - at least for pure corporate prestige. Hard to gauge prestige as a newbi

This is accurate. Note Paul Comma Weiss and GDC have elite litigation practices, as does Quinn

Get that Kirkland almost has “it” b/c PPP is so high (despite the non white shoe model), but why does Latham even get in the mix?

Weil might be by GDC

Latham topped Chambers in both M&A and Capital Markets this year. Is that really not worth anything? Not a prestige whore but just don’t get how people hold up past their prime firms like Cleary but shit on firms doing well in the present. I guess it’s the same classic old money versus new money divide though.

[whats an updog]

transactional attorneys thinking that anything they do is prestigious is funny to me. i guess any attorneys, but transactional most of all

[Anonymous User]

Any news on PerkinsCoie and Sheppard?

[Anonymous User]

Gunderson matched. Silicon Valley/ECVC firms have been doing insanely well financially the last few years (think Cooley, WSGR, Gunderson, Fenwick all did +15% revenue; +25% PPP last year) so no surprise they and Fenwick have jumped on the wagon (think Cooley kicked off special bonuses last year). Doubt any of them would try to jump above market though given optics to startup clients

[Anonymous User]

What do we think the odds of someone (presumably S&C, CSM or STB) topping the DPW scale? I work at one one of the three aforementioned firms and associate retention in corporate has been ATROCIOUS (there are basically no mid levels left in New York) so I wouldn’t necessarily be shocked if there was maybe another 5-10k/year of movement left.

[Anonymous User]

What do we think the odds of someone (presumably S&C, CSM or STB) topping the DPW scale? I work at one one of the three aforementioned firms and associate retention in corporate has been ATROCIOUS (there are basically no mid levels left in New York) so I wouldn’t necessarily be shocked if there was maybe another 5-10k/year of movement left.

Not too crazy. It’s not just midlevel retention that is horrible. We have lost like a quarter of our juniors in six months lol. Most deals are way understaffed and often barely functional

[Kirkland230K]

If I were Kirkland, I would just go to $230K and create permanent market separation in the perception of preftige-conscious law students. Obviously won't happen though, and doesn't necessarily make sense financially since their strategy of targeting mid-levels with massive bonuses has been working really well for them.

They totally could too. They won't. But they could. God that would be a fucking power move.

I hereby dedicate my username to this noble cause. In the words of Emperor Palpatine - "Do it!"

C'mon Kirkland! Do the thing! Power move time. Show everyone you can eat Cravath's lunch.

[Anonymous User]

Jest aside - do PW, STB, GDC have “it”?

If you have to ask...

I mean I’d say STB has “it,” PW not far behind (but not ultra elite), and GDC lagging - at least for pure corporate prestige. Hard to gauge prestige as a newbi

This is accurate. Note Paul Comma Weiss and GDC have elite litigation practices, as does Quinn

Get that Kirkland almost has “it” b/c PPP is so high (despite the non white shoe model), but why does Latham even get in the mix?

Weil might be by GDC

Latham topped Chambers in both M&A and Capital Markets this year. Is that really not worth anything? Not a prestige whore but just don’t get how people hold up past their prime firms like Cleary but shit on firms doing well in the present. I guess it’s the same classic old money versus new money divide though.

Sure it’s def got some good groups - just question the vault rank when it doesn’t have the “it” factor

[Anonymous User]

transactional attorneys thinking that anything they do is prestigious is funny to me. i guess any attorneys, but transactional most of all

Lol so true. “Please paper this deal for me.” - client. Some of these attorneys think they are more important than the client it blows my mind.

[Anonymous User]

transactional attorneys thinking that anything they do is prestigious is funny to me. i guess any attorneys, but transactional most of all

Lol so true. “Please paper this deal for me.” - client. Some of these attorneys think they are more important than the client it blows my mind.

lmao exactly. when are the wheel greasers ever better than those driving the car

[LBJ's Hair]

Latham topped Chambers in both M&A and Capital Markets this year. Is that really not worth anything? Not a prestige whore but just don’t get how people hold up past their prime firms like Cleary but shit on firms doing well in the present. I guess it’s the same classic old money versus new money divide though.

Sure it’s def got some good groups - just question the vault rank when it doesn’t have the “it” factor

thank you, this is what's important

[ExpOriental]

Currently shaking in fear and holding back vomit over the prospect of my firm lacking it factor

[Anonymous User]

The salary bump is meant to distract you from the more impactful question: whether or not “special” bonuses can be made permanent.

I bet this salary bump is a prelude to next year’s “No, of course we can’t re-up special bonuses, aren’t you peons grateful for last year’s salary raise?”

[Anonymous User]

The salary bump is meant to distract you from the more impactful question: whether or not “special” bonuses can be made permanent.

I bet this salary bump is a prelude to next year’s “No, of course we can’t re-up special bonuses, aren’t you peons grateful for last year’s salary raise?”

I'm not sure I think firm leaders are strategic and intentional enough to have this kind of grand plan, but I do wonder why base pay is going up instead of more/bigger bonuses. No guarantee that business will be this hot in a year or two or three, but the base pay will still be higher. A bonus that you have to stick around for is a much bigger incentive to stay at the firm in the short term.

[Anonymous User]

This is accurate. I would also add that comp in 2007 was $160k plus $40k bonus for first years, so first-year comp hasn’t at all even kept up with the cost of living in NYC. But DPW’s PPP was $6.4 million last year, not $4.5 million. It went up 40% in one year.

If you’re a partner at DPW, the +40% PPP is awesome because…who doesn’t want an extra ~$2M. But isn’t it also a bit of a liability — from an optics/PR perspective — because profits this year will be either down or flat from that high-water mark?

[Res Ipsa Loquitter]

This is accurate. I would also add that comp in 2007 was $160k plus $40k bonus for first years, so first-year comp hasn’t at all even kept up with the cost of living in NYC. But DPW’s PPP was $6.4 million last year, not $4.5 million. It went up 40% in one year.

If you’re a partner at DPW, the +40% PPP is awesome because…who doesn’t want an extra ~$2M. But isn’t it also a bit of a liability — from an optics/PR perspective — because profits this year will be either down or flat from that high-water mark?

Yes, making more money is a big liability that should be avoided. For example, a college basketball player shouldn't take an offer to join the NBA. The big annual paychecks will eventually end, and when they do, he could take a big hit from an optics/PR perspective.

[Monochromatic Oeuvre]

This is accurate. I would also add that comp in 2007 was $160k plus $40k bonus for first years, so first-year comp hasn’t at all even kept up with the cost of living in NYC. But DPW’s PPP was $6.4 million last year, not $4.5 million. It went up 40% in one year.

If you’re a partner at DPW, the +40% PPP is awesome because…who doesn’t want an extra ~$2M. But isn’t it also a bit of a liability — from an optics/PR perspective — because profits this year will be either down or flat from that high-water mark?

AmLaw PPP is self-reported and can be whatever the firm wants it to be.

[jarofsoup]

The pay for all slaves will be raised in due course. Just a matter of when.

[AaronCarter]

The pay for all slaves will be raised in due course. Just a matter of when.

[Anonymous User]

The pay for all slaves will be raised in due course. Just a matter of when.

Someone always takes "BigLaw associates don't get paid enough" a little too far.

[NYto200K]

The pay for all slaves will be raised in due course. Just a matter of when.

Someone always takes "BigLaw associates don't get paid enough" a little too far.

Honestly, he didn't take it far enough. The junior most biglaw associate's income puts them at a mere 96 percentile of U.S. income earners. Can you imagine how oppressive life is to labor under the sweltering heat of knowing that 4% of U.S. income earners make more than you?