Looking for some small law career advice Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm in big law, and my husband is in small law. I've got some questions about his career track.

He got his job about 3 months ago. He has no base salary. He makes a percentage of what he earns, with a 1099 structure. He is still ramping up his workload, but the partner in his office absolutely loves him and that partner and the most senior associate give him the best work. He is really enjoying the job because he gets a ton of experience. He runs his own cases from start to finish, basically.

So this is all well and good, but he has been paid for 2 months of work, and so far each month, he has brought in around $1100. Obviously, $12k per year is not an acceptable income for a lawyer, and it's really not ok in a major metro area (we're in the DC suburbs). The partner has told him that he can expect to earn more when he has a full slate of cases. For the purposes of certifying income for IBR payments, the partner wrote a letter stating that my husband can expect to make $35k this year.

I have been telling him that he should stay here for a year or so and then try to find a job with an actual salary ASAP. He thinks leaving in a year would be too soon and he would look like a flight risk. It's clear to me that he will have a ton of experience on his resume by the end of the year though, so I feel like this is a special case and he could justify leaving that soon to find a job with an actual salary.

I'd appreciate any thoughts you all have on this.

[lawschoolftw]

Without knowing anything about your husband's background and employment options, that salary seems criminal. I would look to get out ASAP.

[A. Nony Mouse]

A year is more than totally reasonable. The only concern with looking like a flight risk is if he has a string of short-term positions already; so he would probably need to stay in the next job for a few years, to avoid creating that string of short-term positions. But especially a first job, no one's going to think leaving after a year is weird.

[Anonymous User]

Without knowing anything about your husband's background and employment options, that salary seems criminal. I would look to get out ASAP.

OP here. He's a K-JD from a T2 in our region with slightly above median grades. He graduated in 2015, had a really miserable job hunt, got this job. As far as employment options, I'm hoping that he will have a better job hunt after having the experience from this firm on his resume.

[Anonymous User]

A year is more than totally reasonable. The only concern with looking like a flight risk is if he has a string of short-term positions already; so he would probably need to stay in the next job for a few years, to avoid creating that string of short-term positions. But especially a first job, no one's going to think leaving after a year is weird.

Thanks. This is helpful. This is his first position coming out of law school. He graduated, studied for the bar, passed, and then got down to job hunting from last August through December. This job was his only offer (I mentioned this in another post, but he is a very friendly guy who makes a good impression, but his job hunt was hard coming from slightly better than median grades at school ranked in the 50-60s).

[LeDique]

What kind of practice is it? This seems like it must be a really low percentage to be only getting that kind of number?

[Tls2016]

Your husband needs a different job. He shouldn't worry about being a flight risk. People in small law move when they can if they aren't partners.

I'm sorry he has had the problem but I wish more 0Ls were aware of the reality of finding a job. The job market is so over saturated and people pay sticker for these schools.

[Anonymous User]

What kind of practice is it? This seems like it must be a really low percentage to be only getting that kind of number?

General. He has taken on criminal, family, immigration, and a couple wills. His percentage isn't the issue, it's the work volume at this point. It is a tiered percentage structure, starting at 50% of what the client pays, and going up to 80% in increments based on how much he brings in that month.

[zot1]

I would be looking to move NOW.

[Tls2016]

Is that even minimum wage?
I would at least reduce IBR salary based on actual numbers if possible. I hate to think how much debt your husband has- I hope not too much.

Good luck to him. I'm sure it's been a struggle.

[Abbie Doobie]

50-80% seems fair. these types of arrangements are not uncommon and can have potentially high upside at the risk of a really steep downside if you can't bring in business. could be a good deal if he wants to be in a position to bring in business and run his own practice. you and him need to decide whether its better that he has a steady paycheck or whether you are willing to take on some risk for a shot at potentially higher reward. obviously, it takes time to build up a solid practice though, so i wouldn't get discouraged just yet. the good thing is that you have a steady paycheck that can help mitigate the risk while he builds his caseload.


why doesn't he take some of the attorneys a few years ahead of him at the firm out for coffee/lunch to see how they are doing, how they like the firm, how long it took them to build up a strong caseload, etc.? seems like a better way to figure out what his future will be like there than asking some randos on tls.

[Tls2016]

50-80% seems fair. these types of arrangements are not uncommon and can have potentially high upside at the risk of a really steep downside if you can't bring in business. could be a good deal if he wants to be in a position to bring in business and run his own practice. you and him need to decide whether its better that he has a steady paycheck or whether you are willing to take on some risk for a shot at potentially higher reward. obviously, it takes time to build up a solid practice though, so i wouldn't get discouraged just yet. the good thing is that you have a steady paycheck that can help mitigate the risk while he builds his caseload.


why doesn't he take some of the attorneys a few years ahead of him at the firm out for coffee/lunch to see how they are doing, how they like the firm, how long it took them to build up a strong caseload, etc.? seems like a better way to figure out what his future will be like there than asking some randos on tls.

This is a good point. I had assumed there were less than 10 lawyers. Maybe there are associates there who can give him advice.

[Anonymous User]

50-80% seems fair. these types of arrangements are not uncommon and can have potentially high upside at the risk of a really steep downside if you can't bring in business. could be a good deal if he wants to be in a position to bring in business and run his own practice. you and him need to decide whether its better that he has a steady paycheck or whether you are willing to take on some risk for a shot at potentially higher reward. obviously, it takes time to build up a solid practice though, so i wouldn't get discouraged just yet. the good thing is that you have a steady paycheck that can help mitigate the risk while he builds his caseload.


why doesn't he take some of the attorneys a few years ahead of him at the firm out for coffee/lunch to see how they are doing, how they like the firm, how long it took them to build up a strong caseload, etc.? seems like a better way to figure out what his future will be like there than asking some randos on tls.

Thanks. This is basically his viewpoint. The issue with talking to attorneys a few years ahead of him is that there are none in his location. The firm has 4 different offices around the state, but his office is the second smallest. They have 1 partner, 1 senior associate, and then they hired for this office my husband and 2 other newly minted attorneys. Husband has talked to the other newly minteds about their work flow, and knows for a fact he is getting more work than them

[smallfirmassociate]

The math doesn't add up. If he's making 50% of revenue and he brought in $1100 per month, then he has "worked" this number of hours depending on pay rate

At $100 per hour - 22 hours per month
At $150 per hour - 14.6 hours per month
At $200 per hour - 11 hours per month
At $250 per hour - 8.8 hours per month

I know he's not very busy, but I'm guessing he's working more than 2-5 hours per week. Perhaps it's an issue where he's only paid as the money is received by the firm, not when it's billed. In that case, there might be several months of delay before he gets paid for work that he's done. I'm just saying there seems to be something else going on here b/c the numbers don't work. My advice is to figure out the details and then go from there. If he's truly only working 2-5 hours per week, then I'd try to get the firm to allow him to only work a day or two and let him find a side job or something. Or just be off work.

Making 50% - 80% of revenue and handling your own cases can be a really good deal. That's a much bigger slice of the pie than most small firm associates get. I wouldn't pull the plug until you figure out what's going on.

[Anonymous User]

The math doesn't add up. If he's making 50% of revenue and he brought in $1100 per month, then he has "worked" this number of hours depending on pay rate

At $100 per hour - 22 hours per month
At $150 per hour - 14.6 hours per month
At $200 per hour - 11 hours per month
At $250 per hour - 8.8 hours per month

I know he's not very busy, but I'm guessing he's working more than 2-5 hours per week. Perhaps it's an issue where he's only paid as the money is received by the firm, not when it's billed. In that case, there might be several months of delay before he gets paid for work that he's done. I'm just saying there seems to be something else going on here b/c the numbers don't work. My advice is to figure out the details and then go from there. If he's truly only working 2-5 hours per week, then I'd try to get the firm to allow him to only work a day or two and let him find a side job or something. Or just be off work.

Making 50% - 80% of revenue and handling your own cases can be a really good deal. That's a much bigger slice of the pie than most small firm associates get. I wouldn't pull the plug until you figure out what's going on.

You're correct when you say that he is only paid for money received by the firm and there is a delay. His billing rates vary from client to client because a lot of this firm's clients have legal insurance policies that give them discounted rates.

He also attended a ton of training things (like observing days in court to be able to get on GAL and TRO court appointed lists) last month that are throwing the numbers off.