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I’m a litigation associate at a large firm in a secondary market making $175k. I had an interview for an in-house position and I liked everything I was hearing about the job, but the number that was thrown out was $90k. This would of course be a significant pay cut, although I’m in litigation so I do not think in-house opportunities are as easy to come by. I believe I am going to meet with someone more senior next. Is it relatively common to negotiate on salary for in-house positions. I was going to maybe throw out $110k a year and say that’s still a $65k pay cut on my end. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I think that 110 is a reasonable counteroffer. However, I wouldn't harp on the pay cut. They're well aware of where their comp sits in relation to firm salaries. Also, companies tend to be much more flexible in how you are compensated compared to a firm. Can you find a way to supplement with alternative forms of compensation? Maybe a combination of a signing bonus and some options?

Yes negotiation happens all the time, you should DEFINITELY throw out a higher number, worse that will happen is they say no. And companies say no all the time, so don't be surprised either way.

That is a massive paycut by the way. Keep in mind that if you accept, you'll likely be stuck in the low 100's for a while.

Thanks for the replies. I’ll likely see if there is wiggle room on salary / compensation, but as noted above, I won’t harp on the pay cut aspect. I could see how that could come off unflattering.

90k sucks considering you can make that doing litigation as an attorney for large cities. I dont think 90k is hard to come by so be aggressive in negotiating.

OP- Really recommend you check out the lawyer whisperer blog to get some good in-house nego tips, and also check the Robert Half surveys for your city to understand if they're lowballing you. You should understand the all-in comp (including equity and bonus, if any) and negotiate from there. And of course, don't negotiate or throw out higher numbers for anything until you get closer to the offer stage. Make them fall in love with you first.

I'd also be patient about moving in house. I don't know what market you're in, but the pay cuts are certainly not that significant in the Bay Area. This may not be the right job for you...and that's OK! Just keep interviewing and feel this out, and remember, just because you interview, you don't have to take a job. Make sure you're running _toward_ the job you want, not _from_ the job you're in. Best of luck.

Friend went to an in house lit-ish role in major market for about $140k. I think you have lots of room to negotiate.

I recently interviewed for a few in-house jobs in what I'd call a tertiary market. The biggest firms that are headquartered here pay first year associates $105-125K. There are also a few small biglaw offices here that pay more, but still below NYC market.

My experience was that the junior-to-mid level in-house positions here offer $90-110 in base pay, and a bonus of 10-20%, although the position I ultimately took offered a higher base pay than that. There are sometimes other perks like 401k match, HSA contributions, pension, parking allowance, and so on. Approaches to equity vary widely.

OP here. I ended up getting the job offer and countering at $110k. I then got offered $100 base, with a 10% bonus at the end of the year which I accepted. Maybe I could have gotten more if I made a higher counter, but it is what it is. I liked the people I met and the company and I'm excited to no longer worry about the billable hour. Thanks everyone who gave advice in this thread. It was very helpful.

OP can you pm me? Thanks.

Tertiary market pp here. Congratulations OP! I wish you the best. I have been much happier since I made the switch and I hope you will be too.

OP,

Congratulations. I live in a high COL area, and my experience with going in-house as a litigation associate was similar to yours, both in terms of opportunities and compensation. You did the right thing by getting them to come up higher. Now that you're, "in the club" so to say, use this opportunity to gain as much in-house experience as possible. This way, your next move can get you back up to market in the event that raises are slow to come by. Good luck.