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Meh

What kind of bonuses are you all receiving in your midlaw firm?

My girlfriend's cousin's husband is a Partner in Midlaw and made a "joke" (that wasn't a joke) during Thanksgiving about how they just don't give actual Bonuses to Associates.

It’s depressing.

I'm at a ~50 attorney firm that doesn't pay market. Our target is 1900 hours(LOL), billed 1550. $7K bonus. I was told it was one of the top bonuses.

7k is pretty good.

Salary?

$110,000 as a 4th year.

4th year at a small but growing firm - just under $90,000.

Anonymous User wrote:4th year at a small but growing firm - just under $90,000.

Second year at a boutique (below market pay): $20K

midlaw bonuses are not that big relative to big law. you need to stop comparing yourselves to biglaw, which is a different animal. midlaw has more humane work-life balance, better chances of partnership, earlier chances of partnership, better benefits, usually cheaper COL, and is more of a "career" rather than a "makeshift stint" compared to biglaw.

compared to non biglaw jobs, 100K+ is a LOT of money and 3k+ is a BIG bonus.

Johann wrote:midlaw bonuses are not that big relative to big law. you need to stop comparing yourselves to biglaw, which is a different animal. midlaw has more humane work-life balance, better chances of partnership, earlier chances of partnership, better benefits, usually cheaper COL, and is more of a "career" rather than a "makeshift stint" compared to biglaw.

compared to non biglaw jobs, 100K+ is a LOT of money and 3k+ is a BIG bonus.

Other than the fact that midlaw compensation is generally less than big law in every way, shape and form, your post is wildly inaccurate in many cases, unless you are trying to reserve "midlaw" as a classification for some type of unicorn job. Many regional firms that I would generally think of as midlaw provide none of those other things.

Op here.

I’m making around 85k a couple years after bar passage. Raises have been around 6-7k per year and my bonus was laughable. But I guess I can’t complain too much as there are many recent grads struggling to find a job. That’s what helps me sleep at night anyways, lol.

Anonymous User wrote:Op here.

I’m making around 85k a couple years after bar passage. Raises have been around 6-7k per year and my bonus was laughable. But I guess I can’t complain too much as there are many recent grads struggling to find a job. That’s what helps me sleep at night anyways, lol.

I worked at a midlaw/regional law firm that pays 180k to first years. First year bonus was 5k if that helps.

180k is good but how were the hours? Lol.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Op here.

I’m making around 85k a couple years after bar passage. Raises have been around 6-7k per year and my bonus was laughable. But I guess I can’t complain too much as there are many recent grads struggling to find a job. That’s what helps me sleep at night anyways, lol.

I worked at a midlaw/regional law firm that pays 180k to first years. First year bonus was 5k if that helps.

was this major market? I'm going to a similar firm and kinda in the dark about bonuses.

Most likely a major market... most firms in my area aren’t paying first years that kind of salary lol.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Op here.

I’m making around 85k a couple years after bar passage. Raises have been around 6-7k per year and my bonus was laughable. But I guess I can’t complain too much as there are many recent grads struggling to find a job. That’s what helps me sleep at night anyways, lol.

I worked at a midlaw/regional law firm that pays 180k to first years. First year bonus was 5k if that helps.

was this major market? I'm going to a similar firm and kinda in the dark about bonuses.

Yes major market, CA. 1900 hours to be eligible for bonus, so it wasn't too different from Biglaw hours. I left after the first year so I have no clue how much bonus increased as you got more senior, but I doubt it was that much. Don't expect much bonus unless you bill an insane amount of hours. Salary was technically black box, obviously don't expect Cravath scale, from first year to senior the range was probably 180k to 240/250k i'm guessing.

Bonuses are $1k-2k at my midlaw firm right outside of a major market . Raises have been in the $5k-$10k range.

WhiteCollarBlueShirt wrote:

Johann wrote:midlaw bonuses are not that big relative to big law. you need to stop comparing yourselves to biglaw, which is a different animal. midlaw has more humane work-life balance, better chances of partnership, earlier chances of partnership, better benefits, usually cheaper COL, and is more of a "career" rather than a "makeshift stint" compared to biglaw.

compared to non biglaw jobs, 100K+ is a LOT of money and 3k+ is a BIG bonus.

Other than the fact that midlaw compensation is generally less than big law in every way, shape and form, your post is wildly inaccurate in many cases, unless you are trying to reserve "midlaw" as a classification for some type of unicorn job. Many regional firms that I would generally think of as midlaw provide none of those other things.

I don’t know how my benefits compare to biglaw, but everything except earlier chances of partnership is true of my firm. My work-life balence is much better than my friends in biglaw, and historically more than 50% of first years end up as partners (in a one-tiered partnership).

The downside is pay starts at about 2/3 of market and ends up about 50% by year 8. Also, being a partner in a low-leverage all-equity firm is obviously going to be a lot different than a biglaw partner. Big caveat here: this is “market” where I work, (I.e., it’s the same as what vault firms pay) so I don’t know how much my market is effecting qol and partnership odds, and I don’t know how generalizable my experience is. Just wanted to throw out a data point.

Anonymous User wrote:Bonuses are $1k-2k at my midlaw firm right outside of a major market . Raises have been in the $5k-$10k range.

We are probably in a similar boat.