NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes? Forum

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270910

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by 270910 » Sun Jul 18, 2010 1:10 am

Renzo wrote:
disco_barred wrote:
BunkMoreland wrote:I think the right question to ask here has already been asked: Are the exit options in Man-fucking-hattan that much better than in BIGTEXAS that once you want out of the big law game it'll have been worth it to be in NYC?
I mean, define better. I'd imagine it's easier to work for a bank after a stint in NYC big law but easier to work for an energy company after a stint in Texas, you know?

Life isn't ordinal, no matter how much law students / law school / the legal profession try to make it seem that way.
Right. If you want to go in-house at an energy company, a Texas firm is probably the place to be. If you want to go to one of the regulatory agencies, a DC regulatory firm is the place. If you want to go in house at Metlife, Cravath (et al.) it where you want to be. Fact is, however, that there are more "name brand" firms in NYC, and more big companies with HQs and C-levels conducting business in NYC then there are in Tx, etc.
(pithy "I agree with the above but can't be arsed to type out a coherent English sentence acknowledging as much" comment)

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Dec 26, 2010 3:13 pm

It's actually like 50k after taxes in NYC. 160 goes to about 95k, minus 30k/yr in loans = 65k, minus 10k in retirement(not even the max), = 55k, minus my apartment at 850/month, = 45k cash.

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by swc65 » Sun Dec 26, 2010 5:29 pm

Anonymous User wrote:It's actually like 50k after taxes in NYC. 160 goes to about 95k, minus 30k/yr in loans = 65k, minus 10k in retirement(not even the max), = 55k, minus my apartment at 850/month, = 45k cash.
That's terrible! Only 35K (another 10K for food and utils)to burn after taxes and loans and rent?

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Moxie

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by Moxie » Sun Dec 26, 2010 5:55 pm

Anonymous User wrote:It's actually like 50k after taxes in NYC. 160 goes to about 95k, minus 30k/yr in loans = 65k, minus 10k in retirement(not even the max), = 55k, minus my apartment at 850/month, = 45k cash.
Please tell me where to find a NY apartment for 850 a month?

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by thrillhouse » Sun Dec 26, 2010 11:36 pm

What is one's City Tax liability if one doesn't live in the City (say, NJ or CT)? Does it have to be paid anyway, since that is where the income in earned?

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by Renzo » Sun Dec 26, 2010 11:47 pm

Moxie wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:It's actually like 50k after taxes in NYC. 160 goes to about 95k, minus 30k/yr in loans = 65k, minus 10k in retirement(not even the max), = 55k, minus my apartment at 850/month, = 45k cash.
Please tell me where to find a NY apartment for 850 a month?


I'd try here, maybe

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by imchuckbass58 » Sun Dec 26, 2010 11:54 pm

Moxie wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:It's actually like 50k after taxes in NYC. 160 goes to about 95k, minus 30k/yr in loans = 65k, minus 10k in retirement(not even the max), = 55k, minus my apartment at 850/month, = 45k cash.
Please tell me where to find a NY apartment for 850 a month?
It can be done if you (1) are willing to live in Brooklyn or Queens, or (2) have roommates.

I'm currently on the upper west side (not morningside heights, the actual upper west side) in a doorman building one block from an express stop, and I pay about $1000/month becuase I share with two roommates (real three bedroom though).

In park slope, astoria or long island city you could definitely find a studio for around that much.

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by motiontodismiss » Mon Dec 27, 2010 8:12 am

thrillhouse wrote:What is one's City Tax liability if one doesn't live in the City (say, NJ or CT)? Does it have to be paid anyway, since that is where the income in earned?
No. Based on residency.

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by thrillhouse » Mon Dec 27, 2010 12:17 pm

motiontodismiss wrote:
thrillhouse wrote:What is one's City Tax liability if one doesn't live in the City (say, NJ or CT)? Does it have to be paid anyway, since that is where the income in earned?
No. Based on residency.
Thank you. This should provide me some solace for having to live in Jersey.

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Dec 27, 2010 12:21 pm

Thank you. This should provide me some solace for having to live in Jersey.
I think, in general, if you're willing to live in Brooklyn or Astoria or whatever, you might as well live in Hoboken or something. Assuming you can gain residency, you will be paying even lower rent for a place that's just as good, in an area that's just as nice, and with no city tax. It just makes more financial sense.

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Dec 27, 2010 2:17 pm

IDK, I mean 45K cash to spend stuff on is ok, but it wasnt that much more than I was making in cash terms out of college. I guess the payoff is down the road.

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Dec 27, 2010 2:25 pm

Anonymous User wrote:IDK, I mean 45K cash to spend stuff on is ok, but it wasnt that much more than I was making in cash terms out of college. I guess the payoff is down the road.
Down the road when? When you're pushed out at year three with a quarter of your loans left and are forced to take a paycut when you head in-house?

PSA: The money associates make in biglaw, for 90% of them, will be the highest number they ever see on a paycheck. It's generally downhill from there (though one will probably end up "making more" in the sense that loans will be paid off and taxes will be lower once they enter that lower salary bracket).

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Dec 27, 2010 2:31 pm

This is true for the most part, however after year 3 like 25 percent of my class lateral after being pushed out and got to keep going. Yes, I was on the 10 year payback loan period(210k from CLS, which is the recommended amount) but trying to get that down to 7 or 8.

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by romothesavior » Mon Dec 27, 2010 4:00 pm

This thread makes me hate lawyers. Jesus H. Christ... Cry me a fuckin river.

So you mean, after paying taxes, loans payments, rent, and investing in your retirement, you ONLY have 45 thousand in cash to throw around? Oh the horror of having as much money after taxes, loans, rent, and retirement as the median household income in America, as only a single person! (Protip: If you're making biglaw money and you're married and your spouse works, you now likely make in excess of 200k, especially with a bonus. You are now in the top few % of American families. Boo hoo.)

Also, say you only work a couple of years in biglaw and get forced out. Then you take a pay cut and go in-house or a smaller firm or something and make 70-80k. You have, in all likelihood, paid off a huge chunk (if not all) of your loans and now get to take home far, far more money than most people will ever see in a paycheck in their lifetime. And if you go to law school young, we're talking about being 30ish at this point? Maybe even younger?

I realize that biglaw has many drawbacks (little job security for associates, brutal hours, tough lifestyle, really hard to get, tough career ladder etc.), but lack of money is not a drawback. I would be perfectly content with the middle class lifestyle I've grown up with. My mom would slap the shit out of me if she heard me complaining about making this kind of money.

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by Kohinoor » Mon Dec 27, 2010 5:17 pm

Anonymous User wrote:It's actually like 50k after taxes in NYC. 160 goes to about 95k, minus 30k/yr in loans = 65k, minus 10k in retirement(not even the max), = 55k, minus my apartment at 850/month, = 45k cash.
loans are not taxes. retirement contributions are not taxes. rent is not taxes.

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Dec 28, 2010 7:53 pm

so? OP wanted to know about cash definitely, didnt know about the other.

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by nealric » Tue Dec 28, 2010 8:19 pm

It's actually like 50k after taxes in NYC. 160 goes to about 95k, minus 30k/yr in loans = 65k, minus 10k in retirement(not even the max), = 55k, minus my apartment at 850/month, = 45k cash.
Your math is wrong. 401k contributions are pretax.

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by BruceWayne » Tue Dec 28, 2010 8:33 pm

romothesavior wrote:This thread makes me hate lawyers. Jesus H. Christ... Cry me a fuckin river.

So you mean, after paying taxes, loans payments, rent, and investing in your retirement, you ONLY have 45 thousand in cash to throw around? Oh the horror of having as much money after taxes, loans, rent, and retirement as the median household income in America, as only a single person! (Protip: If you're making biglaw money and you're married and your spouse works, you now likely make in excess of 200k, especially with a bonus. You are now in the top few % of American families. Boo hoo.)

Also, say you only work a couple of years in biglaw and get forced out. Then you take a pay cut and go in-house or a smaller firm or something and make 70-80k. You have, in all likelihood, paid off a huge chunk (if not all) of your loans and now get to take home far, far more money than most people will ever see in a paycheck in their lifetime. And if you go to law school young, we're talking about being 30ish at this point? Maybe even younger?

I realize that biglaw has many drawbacks (little job security for associates, brutal hours, tough lifestyle, really hard to get, tough career ladder etc.), but lack of money is not a drawback. I would be perfectly content with the middle class lifestyle I've grown up with. My mom would slap the shit out of me if she heard me complaining about making this kind of money.
You're missing the point. It's not that there's anything wrong with making 45K a year. The issue is that you have the option of living in another large city, making significantly more, and working significantly less. Why would you choose to work 60+ hours a week to make 45K a year in the most expensive location in the country if you didn't have to--particularly after you've worked intensely for a graduate degree for 3 years? NYC is so prohibitively expensive that lack of money could actually be a drawback for someone working in a large law firm--that really lets you know how insanely high NYC's COL is.

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by PKSebben » Tue Dec 28, 2010 8:34 pm

I'm just dropping in to lol at the dude who said 33% taxes.

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Dec 28, 2010 8:43 pm

nealric wrote:
It's actually like 50k after taxes in NYC. 160 goes to about 95k, minus 30k/yr in loans = 65k, minus 10k in retirement(not even the max), = 55k, minus my apartment at 850/month, = 45k cash.
Your math is wrong. 401k contributions are pretax.
so?

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by The Kid » Tue Dec 28, 2010 8:47 pm

What about possible bonuses? Would it be naive to factor them in?

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by motiontodismiss » Tue Dec 28, 2010 8:48 pm

The Kid wrote:What about possible bonuses? Would it be naive to factor them in?
The $7,500 (prorated?) will make next to no difference in your net pay.

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by rundoxierun » Tue Dec 28, 2010 8:58 pm

If you guys are willing to "slum it" up a bit you could def find an above-decent 1BR place in the 1500-2000 range in upper Manhattan towards Columbia/Morningside Heights/Washington Heights. For those of you who have never seen the area it is not AT ALL extremely dangerous or sketchy like people tend to say. It absolutely blew my mind to see it after hearing all the rumors about how if you go to Columbia you will be getting robbed left and right. Living in lower Manhattan is a luxury(and a very silly one if you ask me) not a necessity.

Just an FYI, 72k post tax/loans is a lot of damn money for a single late 20something. I have no idea why the majority of TLS thinks they could just easily snag a 70k/yr salary job out of undergrad but that is not reality for the majority of us. Only engineers make that kind of money out of undergrad but then they have relatively low salary ceilings for the most part(they also run the risk of being forced out or into supervisory roles for the younger blood coming in to replace them at lower prices). I had a very solid financial analyst I job at a large corporation lined up and I was looking at 45-50k(pretax; but in the south). Also, in-house salary pay is lower(75-100k+ depending on the company/situation ive been told) but the jobs typically include very good benefits packages and other perks.

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by Kohinoor » Tue Dec 28, 2010 9:01 pm

The Kid wrote:What about possible bonuses? Would it be naive to factor them in?
Pre-ITE, no. ITE, what bonuses?

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Re: NYC BigLaw Associates- How much after taxes?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Dec 28, 2010 9:26 pm

tkgrrett wrote:If you guys are willing to "slum it" up a bit you could def find an above-decent 1BR place in the 1500-2000 range in upper Manhattan towards Columbia/Morningside Heights/Washington Heights. For those of you who have never seen the area it is not AT ALL extremely dangerous or sketchy like people tend to say. It absolutely blew my mind to see it after hearing all the rumors about how if you go to Columbia you will be getting robbed left and right. Living in lower Manhattan is a luxury(and a very silly one if you ask me) not a necessity.

Just an FYI, 72k post tax/loans is a lot of damn money for a single late 20something. I have no idea why the majority of TLS thinks they could just easily snag a 70k/yr salary job out of undergrad but that is not reality for the majority of us. Only engineers make that kind of money out of undergrad but then they have relatively low salary ceilings for the most part(they also run the risk of being forced out or into supervisory roles for the younger blood coming in to replace them at lower prices). I had a very solid financial analyst I job at a large corporation lined up and I was looking at 45-50k(pretax; but in the south). Also, in-house salary pay is lower(75-100k+ depending on the company/situation ive been told) but the jobs typically include very good benefits packages and other perks.

Your misunderstanding. understand you are actually working only 50 weeks with your two week vacation. Understand that 10-15k gets put into retirement. Then if you grad from CLS like me, you have 210 in Loans, and you end up making like 40-50k left over if your rent is the cheapest in the city. if its not, its even less. which means u are basically living like you did as if yuo didnt even go to law school, fyi.

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