Top Law Schools

I've been a member on this site for a few years now and all I've heard is that starting salaries in the legal market are the following:

Gov- $70k
Private- Either $70k or $160k- aka there's nothing in between

Is this still true across the board? Im top of my class at a T20 with OCI this summer and I'm wondering how many of the firms at OCI pay that illustrious $160k. Is OCI mostly firms with 250+ attorneys with a few shitlaw firms mixed in? Are all firms that hire interns for 2L Summer paying that $160k? I recently came across this- http://www.nalp.org/new_associate_sal_oct2011 and I'm wondering if its at all relevant.

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OP here. For example, LST and this site in general stress the importance of working biglaw (which is commonly defined as 100+ attorneys), and yet it appears that only the very top firms pay that $160k and firms 100-250 only pay $110k. Is the assumption that firms either have less than 100 attorneys or over 250 and that very few straddle somewhere in the 100 range?

I thought the low end of private starting salaries was around $40,000 to $50,000. I think $70,000 is much too high.

Why don't you just post a list or look them up yourself?

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NYSprague wrote:Why don't you just post a list or look them up yourself?

I just finished 1L...getting up to grab a bag of cheetos is painful.

There are lots of small firms paying between $90k-$160k in Texas

Anonymous User wrote:

NYSprague wrote:Why don't you just post a list or look them up yourself?

I just finished 1L...getting up to grab a bag of cheetos is painful.

Yeah. I can see that googling information for your potential future job is extremely taxing.

NYSprague wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

NYSprague wrote:Why don't you just post a list or look them up yourself?

I just finished 1L...getting up to grab a bag of cheetos is painful.

Yeah. I can see that googling information for your potential future job is extremely taxing.

It was just a joke. I have done some research on it, but figured I would hear what TLS has to say. TLS is after all a research database. Lighten up bro.

I don't think any of us can tell you which firms coming to your school's OCI pay $160k, since we don't know what firms are coming to your school. But as people here have said, "market" pay for biglaw is usually $160k in a major market, more like $110-120k in a secondary market. I don't think there's any assumption that firms are either <100 or 250+ though, I think that's just a random result of whatever statistics you were looking at.

side note.. when are big law firms start increasing salaries to at least have it keep up with inflation? aren't a good numbers of firms having record breaking profits?

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sublime wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:side note.. when are big law firms start increasing salaries to at least have it keep up with inflation? aren't a good numbers of firms having record breaking profits?

Didn't you hear? NYC is about to bump it to $190k

lol is this a joke? please tell me its not a joke... if it is you judt trolled me hard.. Im smiling here like its christmas

sublime wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:side note.. when are big law firms start increasing salaries to at least have it keep up with inflation? aren't a good numbers of firms having record breaking profits?

Didn't you hear? NYC is about to bump it to $190k

Since this thread seems ripe for a random one off...Prediction: Whenever salaries move, and they will go to 175 or even 170 in spite of ATL's insistence on 190, Texas will be where the movement comes from.

some firms are already at 165-174... are the firms waiting for Cravath or someone big to increase to 170-190? I feel like this will be all about herd behavior..

If you want more than 160, it's easy. Just get a job at W&C.

wert3813 wrote:

sublime wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:side note.. when are big law firms start increasing salaries to at least have it keep up with inflation? aren't a good numbers of firms having record breaking profits?

Didn't you hear? NYC is about to bump it to $190k

Since this thread seems ripe for a random one off...Prediction: Whenever salaries move, and they will go to 175 or even 170 in spite of ATL's insistence on 190, Texas will be where the movement comes from.

Check out Bickel & Brewer in Dallas, they start assocs. at ~$190k, and McKool is like $170-$180. Susman is prob @ least that high

First Offense wrote:If you want more than 160, it's easy. Just get a job at W&C.

That TTT doesn't even bonus out to associates. Wachtell, Boies, or bust.

Anyone w/ multiple offers ever successfully negotiate starting salary in a non-NYC/Chi/DCesque market?

OP ever heard of google/NALP?

Hipster but Athletic wrote:Anyone w/ multiple offers ever successfully negotiate starting salary in a non-NYC/Chi/DCesque market?

A friend did. He had an offer from a DC firm after his second summer. His first summer firm in Pittsburgh upped his starting salary to 160K to get him.

unc0mm0n1 wrote:

Hipster but Athletic wrote:Anyone w/ multiple offers ever successfully negotiate starting salary in a non-NYC/Chi/DCesque market?

A friend did. He had an offer from a DC firm after his second summer. His first summer firm in Pittsburgh upped his starting salary to 160K to get him.

Interesting thanks

oblitigate wrote:

wert3813 wrote:

sublime wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:side note.. when are big law firms start increasing salaries to at least have it keep up with inflation? aren't a good numbers of firms having record breaking profits?

Didn't you hear? NYC is about to bump it to $190k

Since this thread seems ripe for a random one off...Prediction: Whenever salaries move, and they will go to 175 or even 170 in spite of ATL's insistence on 190, Texas will be where the movement comes from.

Check out Bickel & Brewer in Dallas, they start assocs. at ~$190k, and McKool is like $170-$180. Susman is prob @ least that high

I'm about as big of a Texas booster as they come, but that's more a lit boutique thing than a Texas thing. Texas just happens to be ground zero for high end lit boutiques. Places like desmarais llp that are trying to emulate the Tx model in other states also pay above NYC market standard.

I have a hard time imagining the big three cranking salaries up ahead of NY.

There is zero pressure on firms to increase salaries. (The $190,000 joke has been around for years. ) If more money is paid it would be in bonuses, which used to be substantial.