New associate banter Forum

[Big Shrimpin]

Starting as a first year associate in NY. Am I crazy for thinking about a $2,400 apartment by myself? (no debt)

With no debt, that sounds extremely reasonable for NYC.

I know ppl paying closer to 3K/mo with moderate/large debtloads. In your case, it's totally doable. Fuck, I've still got like 150K left and I pay about 2K with a roommate.

[quakeroats]

Starting as a first year associate in NY. Am I crazy for thinking about a $2,400 apartment by myself? (no debt)

Nope, that's absolutely in the range people pay.

That's $700 below median rent in Manhattan, but that's not to say you can't do even better. Check out Jersey, FiDi, and LIC for $2100-2400 for a studio (no broker fees either). If you're willing to split a 2 bedroom you can get under $2k.

[snowpeach06]

Starting as a first year associate in NY. Am I crazy for thinking about a $2,400 apartment by myself? (no debt)

I have a friend who decided it would be a good idea to spend $4,500 for an apartment in NYC as a first-year associate. THAT was crazy. What you want to do seems extremely reasonable, and even a little bit cheap.

[Big Shrimpin]

Starting as a first year associate in NY. Am I crazy for thinking about a $2,400 apartment by myself? (no debt)

I have a friend who decided it would be a good idea to spend $4,500 for an apartment in NYC as a first-year associate. THAT was crazy. What you want to do seems extremely reasonable, and even a little bit cheap.

After tax/insurance take-home in MFH is like around 7200/mo (with another month or two where you get and extra paycheck). I would say that, even with no debt, 5400/mo in rent is full-retard unless mom and dad/an SO were supplementing.

[ragelion]

Starting as a first year associate in NY. Am I crazy for thinking about a $2,400 apartment by myself? (no debt)

I have a friend who decided it would be a good idea to spend $4,500 for an apartment in NYC as a first-year associate. THAT was crazy. What you want to do seems extremely reasonable, and even a little bit cheap.

Jesus fucking Christ.

[phonepro]

I have so many projects assigned that i just want to go home and do nothing.

[desertlaw]

Starting as a first year associate in NY. Am I crazy for thinking about a $2,400 apartment by myself? (no debt)

I have a friend who decided it would be a good idea to spend $4,500 for an apartment in NYC as a first-year associate. THAT was crazy. What you want to do seems extremely reasonable, and even a little bit cheap.

Jesus fucking Christ.

Was curious as to what that type of place would even look like. Here you go: --LinkRemoved--

[Stanford4Me]

Starting as a first year associate in NY. Am I crazy for thinking about a $2,400 apartment by myself? (no debt)

I have a friend who decided it would be a good idea to spend $4,500 for an apartment in NYC as a first-year associate. THAT was crazy. What you want to do seems extremely reasonable, and even a little bit cheap.

Jesus fucking Christ.

Was curious as to what that type of place would even look like. Here you go: --LinkRemoved--

Those are some nice amenities, though.

[thesealocust]

What gets me is, no matter how rich you are, an apartment with rent that high must hang over your head if you have any uncertainty about your job at all. Things happen... and it would suck to have an obligation of that size come due every month if life took a turn

[stayway]

I don't know why NYC big law associates even bother getting nice places. They are gonna spend most of their week at their office anyways. 4500/mo is ridiculous.

I pay 1500/mo in philly and its like a damn soccer field

[snowpeach06]

My friend's place was gorgeous. Floor to ceiling windows with a quintessential NY view and tons of amenities (gym, pool, free coffee, movie room, doorman, ect). She actually let me live there for a month this summer (long story short, she wasn't using the place - yup, she let that much money go to waste) and I felt really posh every day walking in.

She did always complain that she was never home - her doorman accused her of breaking in one day cuse he'd never seen her before. But her fiance had much better hours, so he at least got to appreciate it. He was extremely reckless with money, and made much less than my friend, and I think it was he who convinced her to spend that much. Then she got her shit together, broke up with him and found a much cheaper place.

[quakeroats]

For everyone still looking for a place, consider renting in a building with 421a rent stabilization. You'll have 10+ years of 2-5% yearly rent increases (depending on what the rent stabilization board decides) and a guaranteed renewal each year. There's an eventual 2.2% surcharge on that amount if you stay long enough, but that's usually a decade or more down the road. Just make sure you're paying the legal rent and not a preferential rent below that and you'll be protected from the sky-high rent increase typical in NYC.

[ragelion]

For everyone still looking for a place, consider renting in a building with 421a rent stabilization. You'll have 10+ years of 2-5% yearly rent increases (depending on what the rent stabilization board decides) and a guaranteed renewal each year. There's an eventual 2.2% surcharge on that amount if you stay long enough, but that's usually a decade or more down the road. Just make sure you're paying the legal rent and not a preferential rent below that and you'll be protected from the sky-high rent increase typical in NYC.

My rent went up 25 dollars because the market is shit.

[quakeroats]

For everyone still looking for a place, consider renting in a building with 421a rent stabilization. You'll have 10+ years of 2-5% yearly rent increases (depending on what the rent stabilization board decides) and a guaranteed renewal each year. There's an eventual 2.2% surcharge on that amount if you stay long enough, but that's usually a decade or more down the road. Just make sure you're paying the legal rent and not a preferential rent below that and you'll be protected from the sky-high rent increase typical in NYC.

My rent went up 25 dollars because the market is shit.

That's awesome, but this is probably an atypical year. Even with a relatively favorable market, I have friends who are facing 10-15% increases. If your rent isn't stabilized, you're at the mercy of your landlord. And most landlords are smart enough to increase the rent enough to make moving just barely cost prohibitive.

Take a look at the rent increases over the past few years. If you're staying for awhile, rent stabilization can be a great thing: http://www.citi-habitats.com/media/pdf/ ... -final.pdf

[DwightSchruteFarms]

Is everyone here churning out picture perfect work? I just got my ass handed to me for making some stupid errors on an assignment. However, for some of the errors, there was absolutely no way I would have known to put that into a motion. Partner seemed pretty disappointed but acknowledged that "We've all been there." To be fair, I shouldn't have made those mistakes, but its so damn difficult to get some of these assignments done perfectly on their time schedule, esp when i've never worked on a motion in limine or declaration or such in my life. Fuck, its so demoralizing.

[KD35]

Is everyone here churning out picture perfect work? I just got my ass handed to me for making some stupid errors on an assignment. However, for some of the errors, there was absolutely no way I would have known to put that into a motion. Partner seemed pretty disappointed but acknowledged that "We've all been there." To be fair, I shouldn't have made those mistakes, but its so damn difficult to get some of these assignments done perfectly on their time schedule, esp when i've never worked on a motion in limine or declaration or such in my life. Fuck, its so demoralizing.

Sounds like an attempt at constructive criticism...It is still early on, use that as motivation to stop yourself from doing that (or any careless/basic mistake) again.

[ragelion]

Is everyone here churning out picture perfect work? I just got my ass handed to me for making some stupid errors on an assignment. However, for some of the errors, there was absolutely no way I would have known to put that into a motion. Partner seemed pretty disappointed but acknowledged that "We've all been there." To be fair, I shouldn't have made those mistakes, but its so damn difficult to get some of these assignments done perfectly on their time schedule, esp when i've never worked on a motion in limine or declaration or such in my life. Fuck, its so demoralizing.

Sounds like an attempt at constructive criticism...It is still early on, use that as motivation to stop yourself from doing that (or any careless/basic mistake) again.

+1. And try not to take it personally.

[keg411]

Starting as a first year associate in NY. Am I crazy for thinking about a $2,400 apartment by myself? (no debt)

I have a friend who decided it would be a good idea to spend $4,500 for an apartment in NYC as a first-year associate. THAT was crazy. What you want to do seems extremely reasonable, and even a little bit cheap.

Jesus fucking Christ.

Was curious as to what that type of place would even look like. Here you go: --LinkRemoved--

ETA: Checked the actual address. Initially thought it was in the West 70's/80's. Still a solid location, though.

[thesealocust]

Is everyone here churning out picture perfect work? I just got my ass handed to me for making some stupid errors on an assignment. However, for some of the errors, there was absolutely no way I would have known to put that into a motion. Partner seemed pretty disappointed but acknowledged that "We've all been there." To be fair, I shouldn't have made those mistakes, but its so damn difficult to get some of these assignments done perfectly on their time schedule, esp when i've never worked on a motion in limine or declaration or such in my life. Fuck, its so demoralizing.

I'm not living unless I've fucked up at least 3 things before lunch.

In all honesty, it's an incredibly steep learning curve, but everyone has to climb it and everyone understands. You'll get much more accurate, much faster, and be able to get into things much deeper faster than you'll believe.

[gk101]

Is everyone here churning out picture perfect work? I just got my ass handed to me for making some stupid errors on an assignment. However, for some of the errors, there was absolutely no way I would have known to put that into a motion. Partner seemed pretty disappointed but acknowledged that "We've all been there." To be fair, I shouldn't have made those mistakes, but its so damn difficult to get some of these assignments done perfectly on their time schedule, esp when i've never worked on a motion in limine or declaration or such in my life. Fuck, its so demoralizing.

Don't take it personally. These things happen to every new associate. I am sure the Partner realizes the steep learning curve for new associates and won't hold it against you

[Amity]

Starting as a first year associate in NY. Am I crazy for thinking about a $2,400 apartment by myself? (no debt)

I have a friend who decided it would be a good idea to spend $4,500 for an apartment in NYC as a first-year associate. THAT was crazy. What you want to do seems extremely reasonable, and even a little bit cheap.

Looking at those prices, I will never understand why anyone would want to put themselves through the NYC experience. $3K for a semi-nice studio, seriously? You do know that for $3K you can own a really nice [$600K] house and buy a Mercedes for what it costs for a zip car rental. Honestly what is the draw of NYC (other than to visit as a tourist)? NYC income is only marginally higher than what firms pay in the top 20-50 sized markets. What am I missing here?

[NinerFan]

Starting as a first year associate in NY. Am I crazy for thinking about a $2,400 apartment by myself? (no debt)

I have a friend who decided it would be a good idea to spend $4,500 for an apartment in NYC as a first-year associate. THAT was crazy. What you want to do seems extremely reasonable, and even a little bit cheap.

Looking at those prices, I will never understand why anyone would want to put themselves through the NYC experience. $3K for a semi-nice studio, seriously? You do know that for $3K you can own a really nice [$600K] house and buy a Mercedes for what it costs for a zip car rental. Honestly what is the draw of NYC (other than to visit as a tourist)? NYC income is only marginally higher than what firms pay in the top 20-50 sized markets. What am I missing here?

Well, the draw for me was that I had a job offer here, and not elsewhere.

[thesealocust]

Starting as a first year associate in NY. Am I crazy for thinking about a $2,400 apartment by myself? (no debt)

I have a friend who decided it would be a good idea to spend $4,500 for an apartment in NYC as a first-year associate. THAT was crazy. What you want to do seems extremely reasonable, and even a little bit cheap.

Looking at those prices, I will never understand why anyone would want to put themselves through the NYC experience. $3K for a semi-nice studio, seriously? You do know that for $3K you can own a really nice [$600K] house and buy a Mercedes for what it costs for a zip car rental. Honestly what is the draw of NYC (other than to visit as a tourist)? NYC income is only marginally higher than what firms pay in the top 20-50 sized markets. What am I missing here?

Some people like NYC. The prices are high because of the incredible demand for space there.

No amount of money in a secondary market can be exchanged for the "experience" / "glamor" / "culture" you get in NYC. That might all be a load of crap and the tradeoffs are intense, but it can't be reduced to dollars and cents.

For a whole lot of people, NYC is the center of the universe and worth sacrifice just to be in/near. If you're not one of them, then the financial equation of living in the city are insane.

[Amity]

The heart wants what the heart wants. Good luck.

[Big Shrimpin]

Is everyone here churning out picture perfect work? I just got my ass handed to me for making some stupid errors on an assignment. However, for some of the errors, there was absolutely no way I would have known to put that into a motion. Partner seemed pretty disappointed but acknowledged that "We've all been there." To be fair, I shouldn't have made those mistakes, but its so damn difficult to get some of these assignments done perfectly on their time schedule, esp when i've never worked on a motion in limine or declaration or such in my life. Fuck, its so demoralizing.

I once cited a case in a motion that wasn't directly on point.

RAINMAKER PARTNER was MAF. This is a huge D Ct litigation - multi-billion dollar corporations.

Thought I was fired. Everyone forgot about it and moved on.

When you fuck up, own it, and move on. Everyone fucks up. Just don't make the same mistake twice. That'll get you shitcanned.