Let's talk in-house salaries Forum

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zot1

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by zot1 » Mon Mar 06, 2017 12:54 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:2 years out of law school
Previously at midlaw firm as corporate generalist, now in house very recently
Practice area is insurance
Base salary is 135-145k
Bonus expected is 20-25k
No equity grants, vesting, or 401k match

The role is a business side, JD advantage position.
Considering a similar position, are you happy there? Why did you make the switch, do you think that position was hard to get?
And what are your hours?

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 06, 2017 1:17 pm

zot1 wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:2 years out of law school
Previously at midlaw firm as corporate generalist, now in house very recently
Practice area is insurance
Base salary is 135-145k
Bonus expected is 20-25k
No equity grants, vesting, or 401k match

The role is a business side, JD advantage position.
Considering a similar position, are you happy there? Why did you make the switch, do you think that position was hard to get?
And what are your hours?
Extremely happy. There's a whole different environment and personality in house that is calming and nurtures actual growth. I've learned far more in the short time I've been here than I would learn in six months at the firm. It helps that the work I do is surprisingly interesting. It's fairly niche so I'd prefer not to get more specific.

I made the switch because I was totally miserable with the people I worked for at my firm. I was one of three associates answering to a dozen partners and it made life constantly stressful with all of the infighting amongst partners for our time. We were overworked and underpaid. Morale was low.

I obtained the position through a recruiter. It was not advertised, so having the recruiter was the only way to get it. I met with all of senior management at my first interview and just clicked with everyone. I had been on many interviews for in house positions where I felt like I was struggling to mold myself into the person they were looking for. Here, I felt accepted for my knowledge and experience level immediately. My short time at the firm is paying dividends here and I have hit the ground running.

The hours suggested are 9-6, but there's no hard requirement. I've been here from 8:30 to 7 everyday since starting except on Fridays, where the office clears out right at 5. My hours seem to be atypical since I'm still new and trying to make a good impression, though people do work nights and weekends as our type of insurance is "deal based." However, if nothing is going on, you have no stress about billable hours or facetime. Everyone gets company laptops and phones for after hours work.

Overall, I can't believe what a change of pace it is from the firm. It feels like a family here where people really give a shit about you as a person. Such a nice change.

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 06, 2017 3:33 pm

Anonymous User wrote:I think it would be good for you all to post your # in http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 3&t=258538


3.5 years out of law school
3.5 years in-house (2.5 at the current company, 1 at another)
Transactional(general corporate, commercial transactions, employment, marketing, sponsorship, production deals, etc )
Base salary is $105K
small 401k contribution. 21 vacation days + holidays/sick days/personal days. Generally 9-6 M-F
Industry is Sports/Entertainment/Advertising
How did you get inhouse job without law firm experiences (except for summers)?

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 06, 2017 3:37 pm

Anonymous User wrote:I'm waiting to hear a decision for an in-house position at a 100+ person start-up in San Francisco. I've got 4 years experience at a biglaw firm. Assume average additional benefits (e.g., stock options etc). Anyone have an idea what the appropriate base salary should be?
Are you expecting to receive stock options? If so, how many would you generally expect from a 100+ person "startup"?

Sorry, I am not answering your question..

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 06, 2017 3:43 pm

Does anyone know any anecdotes regarding a startup in-house salary WITHOUT a firm experience, straight out of law school?

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 06, 2017 3:47 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Does anyone know any anecdotes regarding a startup in-house salary WITHOUT a firm experience, straight out of law school?
I've seen a few insurance companies/banks offer like 85k FWIW. All secondary markets though.

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zot1

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by zot1 » Mon Mar 06, 2017 3:50 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:I think it would be good for you all to post your # in http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 3&t=258538


3.5 years out of law school
3.5 years in-house (2.5 at the current company, 1 at another)
Transactional(general corporate, commercial transactions, employment, marketing, sponsorship, production deals, etc )
Base salary is $105K
small 401k contribution. 21 vacation days + holidays/sick days/personal days. Generally 9-6 M-F
Industry is Sports/Entertainment/Advertising
How did you get inhouse job without law firm experiences (except for summers)?
I know at least three fellow alums who got in-house gigs out of law school. It's hard but not impossible.

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 06, 2017 3:58 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Does anyone know any anecdotes regarding a startup in-house salary WITHOUT a firm experience, straight out of law school?
Not sure what exactly you're referring to by startup?

I'm in healthcare, on the transactional side of a 30 attorney law department. Came here straight after graduation with no firm experience.

Salary circa $110k, hours 9-6 Mon-Fri. Business formal.
No significant bonus to speak of, though that does happen after promotion anticipated some time around year 5.
33 days combined PTO/sick time (that includes all holidays).
50% 401k match between 3% and 6% of salary. So if you contribute 6% they'll pay 3%.
3% pension contribution in addition to above.
Last edited by Anonymous User on Mon Mar 06, 2017 6:51 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 06, 2017 4:20 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
zot1 wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:2 years out of law school
Previously at midlaw firm as corporate generalist, now in house very recently
Practice area is insurance
Base salary is 135-145k
Bonus expected is 20-25k
No equity grants, vesting, or 401k match

The role is a business side, JD advantage position.
Considering a similar position, are you happy there? Why did you make the switch, do you think that position was hard to get?
And what are your hours?
Extremely happy. There's a whole different environment and personality in house that is calming and nurtures actual growth. I've learned far more in the short time I've been here than I would learn in six months at the firm. It helps that the work I do is surprisingly interesting. It's fairly niche so I'd prefer not to get more specific.

I made the switch because I was totally miserable with the people I worked for at my firm. I was one of three associates answering to a dozen partners and it made life constantly stressful with all of the infighting amongst partners for our time. We were overworked and underpaid. Morale was low.

I obtained the position through a recruiter. It was not advertised, so having the recruiter was the only way to get it. I met with all of senior management at my first interview and just clicked with everyone. I had been on many interviews for in house positions where I felt like I was struggling to mold myself into the person they were looking for. Here, I felt accepted for my knowledge and experience level immediately. My short time at the firm is paying dividends here and I have hit the ground running.

The hours suggested are 9-6, but there's no hard requirement. I've been here from 8:30 to 7 everyday since starting except on Fridays, where the office clears out right at 5. My hours seem to be atypical since I'm still new and trying to make a good impression, though people do work nights and weekends as our type of insurance is "deal based." However, if nothing is going on, you have no stress about billable hours or facetime. Everyone gets company laptops and phones for after hours work.

Overall, I can't believe what a change of pace it is from the firm. It feels like a family here where people really give a shit about you as a person. Such a nice change.
Thanks, what do you think your exit opportunities are?

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 06, 2017 4:41 pm

Experience: Almost 3 years out of law school - a little less than 2 years as biglaw corporate associate, 8 months in-house at large company
Market: Primary market (non-NYC)
Compensation: $150K with 15% target bonus. Annual COL salary adjustments (I think 2-3%). Equity not available until way down the road.
Benefits: Effective 4% 401k match, 4 weeks paid vacation + generous holiday schedule (e.g. most traditional three-day weekends like Labor Day and Memorial day become four-day weekends). Other good soft benefits (food in the office, gym discounts and partnerships, relaxed dress code).
Type of Work: General contracts, some IP-related work, FTC/advertising stuff
Hours: 9-5. Very minor evening work (like calls or responding to emails) if I'm working with people on the West Coast. No weekend work.

The pay cut from big law definitely sucks, but once you factor in how much more time I have (and less stress), it's 100% worth it.

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zot1

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by zot1 » Mon Mar 06, 2017 4:46 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Experience: Almost 3 years out of law school - a little less than 2 years as biglaw corporate associate, 8 months in-house at large company
Market: Primary market (non-NYC)
Compensation: $150K with 15% target bonus. Annual COL salary adjustments (I think 2-3%). Equity not available until way down the road.
Benefits: Effective 4% 401k match, 4 weeks paid vacation + generous holiday schedule (e.g. most traditional three-day weekends like Labor Day and Memorial day become four-day weekends). Other good soft benefits (food in the office, gym discounts and partnerships, relaxed dress code).
Type of Work: General contracts, some IP-related work, FTC/advertising stuff
Hours: 9-5. Very minor evening work (like calls or responding to emails) if I'm working with people on the West Coast. No weekend work.

The pay cut from big law definitely sucks, but once you factor in how much more time I have (and less stress), it's 100% worth it.
Bro this sounds like the life.

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 06, 2017 4:59 pm

SF Bay Area
Graduated law school in 2015
1 year in-house (previously at a boutique real estate firm)
Real Estate Developer (20 employees, me & general counsel as the legal dept)
Base salary is $130K
Bonus is 10% of salary (could be more depending upon performance of company)
no 401K match
11 PTO (includes vacation & sick days)
Equity after 3-4 years
Hours are 8:30AM-6:30PM M-F, plus I've worked maybe 2 or 3 weekends out of the year.

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by smokeylarue » Mon Mar 06, 2017 5:21 pm

How are you guys copping these in-house jobs with just 2 or 3 years firm experience? TELL US YOUR SECRETS.

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 06, 2017 5:36 pm

smokeylarue wrote:How are you guys copping these in-house jobs with just 2 or 3 years firm experience? TELL US YOUR SECRETS.
I'm the poster directly above your post. For me, I was working at a boutique real estate firm in SF and I saw the job posting on my school's career website. General counsel at my current company knew I was passionate about real estate based on my prior internships and short time at the firm. He wanted an associate that he could train himself, to "take over his job" when the time was right.

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 06, 2017 5:42 pm

As a lit associate, this is depressing :(

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 06, 2017 5:52 pm

smokeylarue wrote:How are you guys copping these in-house jobs with just 2 or 3 years firm experience? TELL US YOUR SECRETS.
Insurance OP here. Just get a good recruiter man, they'll hook you up.

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 06, 2017 5:53 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Experience: Almost 3 years out of law school - a little less than 2 years as biglaw corporate associate, 8 months in-house at large company
Market: Primary market (non-NYC)
Compensation: $150K with 15% target bonus. Annual COL salary adjustments (I think 2-3%). Equity not available until way down the road.
Benefits: Effective 4% 401k match, 4 weeks paid vacation + generous holiday schedule (e.g. most traditional three-day weekends like Labor Day and Memorial day become four-day weekends). Other good soft benefits (food in the office, gym discounts and partnerships, relaxed dress code).
Type of Work: General contracts, some IP-related work, FTC/advertising stuff
Hours: 9-5. Very minor evening work (like calls or responding to emails) if I'm working with people on the West Coast. No weekend work.

The pay cut from big law definitely sucks, but once you factor in how much more time I have (and less stress), it's 100% worth it.
smokeylarue wrote:How are you guys copping these in-house jobs with just 2 or 3 years firm experience? TELL US YOUR SECRETS.
Poster above.

Honestly, it was mostly luck. Others at my firm who were much more senior than me took over a year to find an in-house gig in the same market. I started looking early in case it took me that long, and ended up with an offer within 3 months of the day I first emailed a recruiter. These jobs don't open up on a predictable schedule, so I think it's important to keep your ear to the ground and interview for positions as they open up.

The more tangible factors - previous job experience before law school (which the folks interviewing me loved) and getting a lot of substantive experience (relatively speaking) as a junior associate when I was at the firm. I'm also a good interviewer, FWIW.

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 06, 2017 5:54 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
zot1 wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:2 years out of law school
Previously at midlaw firm as corporate generalist, now in house very recently
Practice area is insurance
Base salary is 135-145k
Bonus expected is 20-25k
No equity grants, vesting, or 401k match

The role is a business side, JD advantage position.
Considering a similar position, are you happy there? Why did you make the switch, do you think that position was hard to get?
And what are your hours?
Extremely happy. There's a whole different environment and personality in house that is calming and nurtures actual growth. I've learned far more in the short time I've been here than I would learn in six months at the firm. It helps that the work I do is surprisingly interesting. It's fairly niche so I'd prefer not to get more specific.

I made the switch because I was totally miserable with the people I worked for at my firm. I was one of three associates answering to a dozen partners and it made life constantly stressful with all of the infighting amongst partners for our time. We were overworked and underpaid. Morale was low.

I obtained the position through a recruiter. It was not advertised, so having the recruiter was the only way to get it. I met with all of senior management at my first interview and just clicked with everyone. I had been on many interviews for in house positions where I felt like I was struggling to mold myself into the person they were looking for. Here, I felt accepted for my knowledge and experience level immediately. My short time at the firm is paying dividends here and I have hit the ground running.

The hours suggested are 9-6, but there's no hard requirement. I've been here from 8:30 to 7 everyday since starting except on Fridays, where the office clears out right at 5. My hours seem to be atypical since I'm still new and trying to make a good impression, though people do work nights and weekends as our type of insurance is "deal based." However, if nothing is going on, you have no stress about billable hours or facetime. Everyone gets company laptops and phones for after hours work.

Overall, I can't believe what a change of pace it is from the firm. It feels like a family here where people really give a shit about you as a person. Such a nice change.
Thanks, what do you think your exit opportunities are?
I could stay and move up the corporate ladder here, or I could move to a bigger brand like AIG, or move over to the broker side for better hours/lifestyle. Doubt I will leave here anytime soon unless something phenomenal came up.

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by 2014 » Mon Mar 06, 2017 6:42 pm

How did those of you who went through a recruiter identify which recruiter to use? Most of the calls and email blasts are very firm-centric so not a lot to go on there (though they may obviously also be good at in-house placement and just not say so).

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 06, 2017 6:45 pm

2014 wrote:How did those of you who went through a recruiter identify which recruiter to use? Most of the calls and email blasts are very firm-centric so not a lot to go on there (though they may obviously also be good at in-house placement and just not say so).
Insurance OP. I responded to a bunch of those emails and had phone calls with 4 different recruiters from different companies. I narrowed those down to two, one for in house and one for law firm positions. You gotta find someone you're comfortable with. You get to interview them, ask about their credentials, their recent placements, industry knowledge, etc. They are very willing to answer all of your questions.

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 06, 2017 6:46 pm

smokeylarue wrote:How are you guys copping these in-house jobs with just 2 or 3 years firm experience? TELL US YOUR SECRETS.
I'm the healthcare poster. We've been actively recruiting for folk with 1-3 years experience. If you're in health law, you should be able to find the position in the usual places. My advice would be to make sure you fully understand any position you're applying for and carefully tailor your resume to match.

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by zot1 » Mon Mar 06, 2017 6:59 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
smokeylarue wrote:How are you guys copping these in-house jobs with just 2 or 3 years firm experience? TELL US YOUR SECRETS.
I'm the healthcare poster. We've been actively recruiting for folk with 1-3 years experience. If you're in health law, you should be able to find the position in the usual places. My advice would be to make sure you fully understand any position you're applying for and carefully tailor your resume to match.
What if you're not in health law?

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by nealric » Tue Mar 07, 2017 12:14 pm

smokeylarue wrote:How are you guys copping these in-house jobs with just 2 or 3 years firm experience? TELL US YOUR SECRETS.
I wouldn't say there's a secret other than to make sure someone who is not in HR gets your resume. Few corporate HR folks know what a good legal resume looks like. If you see a listing for a job, find someone you know (or a friend of a friend) who works at the company and can forward your resume. You'd be amazed how big your network is if you do some legwork.

Recruiters can be helpful in some cases, but keep in mind that working with a recruiter can also kill your chances in others. Going with a recruiter means you've just made the company shell out tens of thousands of additional dollars if they want to hire you. I found most recruiters were more interested in law firm laterals than trying to market candidates in-house.

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 07, 2017 12:29 pm

5 years of biglaw, relatively niche practice (think tax specialty), recently moved in-house.
Business/operations side, JD advantage position.
Base is 185k. Bonus target is $90k.
6% 401k match, 5-10% profit share depending on market - both start in year 2.
No equity opportunities until year 6, may not be realistic.
8-6pm, weekends are rare.
1 hour commute being the only drawback so far, resulting in 11-12 hour days. Will move someday.

Source was industry (not legal) recruiter.

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Re: Let's talk in-house salaries

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 07, 2017 12:34 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Any IP Lit biglaw -> inhouse associates ?
I'm making this transition now. Details below...

Experience: 4-5 years of biglaw IP lit experience, no in-house experience yet.
Market: Secondary market (e.g., Denver, Houston, Seattle)
Compensation: $185k-200k with 18%-20% target bonus. $20k signing bonus. But raises seem unlikely in the near future.
Benefits: Strong 401k match (probably an extra ~$10k per year), 4 weeks paid vacation, 2 weeks paid sick leave, good holiday schedule. Allegedly free health insurance.
Type of Work: IP litigation (managing outside counsel and the like)
Hours: Not sure since I haven't started yet. During interviews, folks sold me on the QoL difference and promised an 8:30 to 6:00 type of gig with lots of teleworking flexibility. Will report back in a couple of months to update.

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