Small Firm Salary Forum

[Anonymous User]

What kind of starting salary can I expect from a 15-person firm doing commercial litigation in NYC? 85k?

[hangtime813]

What kind of starting salary can I expect from a 15-person firm doing commercial litigation in NYC? 85k?

Assuming you are a 1st year, that sounds about right. Small firm pay varies wildly, even in big markets like SF/LA/NYC, but 85k isn't unheard of.

[lolwat]

What kind of starting salary can I expect from a 15-person firm doing commercial litigation in NYC? 85k?

Assuming you are a 1st year, that sounds about right. Small firm pay varies wildly, even in big markets like SF/LA/NYC, but 85k isn't unheard of.

85k is reasonable I suppose but salary isn't just based on how many people are at a firm and what practice they do. Small firms are all over the place. There are plenty of 15-person boutiques that pay much better than 85k. And I'm sure there are plenty of shitty 15-person shops that pay much worse than 85k, too.

[Anonymous User]

Their law clerk salary is $18. What do you figure is their first-year attorney salary?

[Damage Over Time]

Their law clerk salary is $18. What do you figure is their first-year attorney salary?

$18/hr ?

[Anonymous User]

Yeap

[silenttimer]

Their law clerk salary is $18. What do you figure is their first-year attorney salary?

What type of work? If family law/insurance defense type work, then likely less than $85k. If specialized litigation/impact litigation, then likely $125k and up to big law scale. If middle of the road business litigation/corporate work then $85-100k seems reasonable.

[1styearlateral]

Between $80-135k IME. Anything more is likely amlaw200 but as an above poster said, you don't judge first year salary based on how many attorneys work for the firm.

[Anonymous User]

Construction/commercial litigation - breach of k stuff, products liability/insurance/someee employment. So around 80k? They don't seem too shitty...all the attorneys are like 1st tier grads...I really don't like that I might be cornered into doing shit law work...I want to believe they're decent...

[sparty99]

What is your bill rate and billable hour requirement? If it is $300 - 400 that would require a higher salary above $85k. But if it's an insurance defense, $70-$100k.

[foregetaboutdre]

Construction/commercial litigation - breach of k stuff, products liability/insurance/someee employment. So around 80k? They don't seem too shitty...all the attorneys are like 1st tier grads...I really don't like that I might be cornered into doing shit law work...I want to believe they're decent...

Seems like a lot of insurance defense tbh. Anytime I see construction litigation + employment + insurance I think a firm is dominated doing insurance carrier stuff. But it's not a bad job.

[Anonymous User]

At a small firm, if I want to specialize in let's say employment law, can I steer thay way? Can I take on cases in that area? Or bc I'm an associate and there are no partners who specialize in it, is it unlikely?

[hangtime813]

Construction/commercial litigation - breach of k stuff, products liability/insurance/someee employment. So around 80k? They don't seem too shitty...all the attorneys are like 1st tier grads...I really don't like that I might be cornered into doing shit law work...I want to believe they're decent...

I don't think this is shitlaw by any means. People are going to have varying opinions on what shitlaw is, but insurance defense, prod liability, employment stuff...all respectable work, even if a lot of it is based on volume/repetitive.

[Anonymous User]

Then...what is shitlaw