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Anyone have any solid info on starting salary for first year associates at Clark Hill? I've seen 110k floated for Detroit, I'd like to know if that number has any merit. Thank you!!

Anonymous User wrote:Anyone have any solid info on starting salary for first year associates at Clark Hill? I've seen 110k floated for Detroit, I'd like to know if that number has any merit. Thank you!!

i think this is right. big question will be if Jones Day opening an office in Detroit will force other salaries to go up. If they come in at the same level as Foley (140k) then the others might have to jump as well. So if JD pays 160, like they do in Cleveland, will Foley match and will other detroit firms come up too - maybe to 125 or 130.

JD doesn't pay 160 in Cleveland. They pay 145.

And Foley only pays $130k in Detroit (according to their NALP page)

XxSpyKEx wrote:And Foley only pays $130k in Detroit (according to their NALP page)

The Detroit office has only around 50 attorneys as well, so it probably isn't influential in compensation levels.

OP here

Thank you for the input! I'm actually more interested in what they would be paying in DC, but since there's likely more info on the Detroit office, I thought that would be a good place to start.

Anonymous User wrote:OP here

Thank you for the input! I'm actually more interested in what they would be paying in DC, but since there's likely more info on the Detroit office, I thought that would be a good place to start.

Don't know about DC, have a friend whose currently a third year at CH, her first year was 110 then 115 (Year 2), 125 (Year 3).

Anonymous User wrote:OP here

Thank you for the input! I'm actually more interested in what they would be paying in DC, but since there's likely more info on the Detroit office, I thought that would be a good place to start.

With the salaries and student loan repayment assistance offered federal government, the numerous biglaw firms in DC that pay $160k, etc., I think Clark Hill would have trouble recruiting really high quality people in DC if they only pay $110k. Wouldn't be surprised if CH pays $160k in DC just to be competitive with the other firms there. $110k is pretty terrible for a firm in DC (whereas, it's living like a king in shithole Detroit). Many midsize and smaller firms pay more than that (even many nonprofits in DC pay around 6 figures with a few years of experience, so I think firms there need to pay more to get the top law school grads). I think part of is that is that DC is really expensive, where you really need $120-125k /year to live reasonably (unlike Detroit, where you can live like a king for $110k), assuming you're going to be repaying $150k+ in student loans on a standard 10 year plan (figure COL alone will be around $40k /year to live okay in a place like Dupont circle, and after taxes, SS, health insurance, etc., $120k is more like $80k).

XxSpyKEx wrote:And Foley only pays $130k in Detroit (according to their NALP page)

Foley just raised Detroit to 140k for incoming SAs. (source, an incoming SA at Foley-Detroit)

Anonymous User wrote:

XxSpyKEx wrote:And Foley only pays $130k in Detroit (according to their NALP page)

Foley just raised Detroit to 140k for incoming SAs. (source, an incoming SA at Foley-Detroit)

I don't care about salary compression, 140k in Detroit is a pretty nice

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:OP here

Thank you for the input! I'm actually more interested in what they would be paying in DC, but since there's likely more info on the Detroit office, I thought that would be a good place to start.

Don't know about DC, have a friend whose currently a third year at CH, her first year was 110 then 115 (Year 2), 125 (Year 3).

Which office?

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:OP here

Thank you for the input! I'm actually more interested in what they would be paying in DC, but since there's likely more info on the Detroit office, I thought that would be a good place to start.

Don't know about DC, have a friend whose currently a third year at CH, her first year was 110 then 115 (Year 2), 125 (Year 3).

Which office?

Detroit.

Heard from a friend w/ a SA offer that Clark Hill in DC paid 2k/week to summer associates (this was last year). Not sure about 1st-year associates.

How does it work at these firms when you're interviewing and looking at potential offers prior to knowing if you passed the bar?