What is the max compensation cut you would take for non biglaw hours/stress? Forum

[kmanskey]

What is the maximum amount of compensation cut you would take if you were to lateral to midlaw or go in-house with a mostly guaranteed 9-6pm, occasional weekends, and less stressful environment?

[TigerIsBack]

What is the maximum amount of compensation cut you would take if you were to lateral to midlaw or go in-house with a mostly guaranteed 9-6pm, occasional weekends, and less stressful environment?

Once I own a home (well, at least once I make the down payment) and still have some cash/savings in the bank, I think I'd be happy with around $250k in cash comp since I live in a fairly expensive COL area, which seems reasonable or at least possible for a corporate senior going in-house (though I'm not a senior yet).

That said, I'm personally not overwhelmed by the stress of the job yet so hoping to stay at my firm long-term as things stand now.

[papermateflair]

What is the maximum amount of compensation cut you would take if you were to lateral to midlaw or go in-house with a mostly guaranteed 9-6pm, occasional weekends, and less stressful environment?

I'm a senior associate, and my schedule right now is usually 9:30 to 7:30, with occasional night/weekend work, so I wouldn't really want to take a pay cut at all unless it was really going to be significantly less work or significantly less responsibility (why take significantly less money for a few hours a week?). I'm planning to stay in big law though (at least as long as big law will have me), and I recognize I may have one of those rare sustainable big law jobs.

[PartiallyLearnedHand]

What is the maximum amount of compensation cut you would take if you were to lateral to midlaw or go in-house with a mostly guaranteed 9-6pm, occasional weekends, and less stressful environment?

I'm a senior associate, and my schedule right now is usually 9:30 to 7:30, with occasional night/weekend work, so I wouldn't really want to take a pay cut at all unless it was really going to be significantly less work or significantly less responsibility (why take significantly less money for a few hours a week?). I'm planning to stay in big law though (at least as long as big law will have me), and I recognize I may have one of those rare sustainable big law jobs.

Do you happen to be in a regulatory practice?

[papermateflair]

What is the maximum amount of compensation cut you would take if you were to lateral to midlaw or go in-house with a mostly guaranteed 9-6pm, occasional weekends, and less stressful environment?

I'm a senior associate, and my schedule right now is usually 9:30 to 7:30, with occasional night/weekend work, so I wouldn't really want to take a pay cut at all unless it was really going to be significantly less work or significantly less responsibility (why take significantly less money for a few hours a week?). I'm planning to stay in big law though (at least as long as big law will have me), and I recognize I may have one of those rare sustainable big law jobs.

Do you happen to be in a regulatory practice?

I'm in tax/ERISA/exec comp. And not in NYC.

[dabigchina]

What is the maximum amount of compensation cut you would take if you were to lateral to midlaw or go in-house with a mostly guaranteed 9-6pm, occasional weekends, and less stressful environment?

I'm a senior associate, and my schedule right now is usually 9:30 to 7:30, with occasional night/weekend work, so I wouldn't really want to take a pay cut at all unless it was really going to be significantly less work or significantly less responsibility (why take significantly less money for a few hours a week?). I'm planning to stay in big law though (at least as long as big law will have me), and I recognize I may have one of those rare sustainable big law jobs.

Do you happen to be in a regulatory practice?

I'm in tax/ERISA/exec comp. And not in NYC.

Non transactional, right? Transactional exec comp is not that sustainable.

Junior here - I would have taken a 30k pay cut for a guaranteed 9-5. I thankfully didn't have to take anywhere near as much of a pay cut.

[trebekismyhero]

I was a mid-level corp associate and I took roughly a $30k cut in total comp, although much bigger in cash since a lot of my comp is bonus and equity. But so far very happy with the decision. A lot less stress and learning a lot of new things.

[logical seasoning]

Was a junior lit associate and took a 100k pay cut to work in govt. (Cash. if you include benefits, more like a 80k pay cut)

No regrets as I value my mental, physical, and emotional health more than $$$. 9-5 no nights and weekends and telework 2 days out of the week.

[papermateflair]

What is the maximum amount of compensation cut you would take if you were to lateral to midlaw or go in-house with a mostly guaranteed 9-6pm, occasional weekends, and less stressful environment?

I'm a senior associate, and my schedule right now is usually 9:30 to 7:30, with occasional night/weekend work, so I wouldn't really want to take a pay cut at all unless it was really going to be significantly less work or significantly less responsibility (why take significantly less money for a few hours a week?). I'm planning to stay in big law though (at least as long as big law will have me), and I recognize I may have one of those rare sustainable big law jobs.

Do you happen to be in a regulatory practice?

I'm in tax/ERISA/exec comp. And not in NYC.

Non transactional, right? Transactional exec comp is not that sustainable.

Junior here - I would have taken a 30k pay cut for a guaranteed 9-5. I thankfully didn't have to take anywhere near as much of a pay cut.

No, I do at least 50% transactional work. I've been at two firms, and neither one had transactional exec comp folks working out of control hours, but I haven't been at a V10 and I haven't been in NYC so not sure what the world is like for the elite

[didntretake]

I took about an $70k cash cut when I went in house. I was in a specialist group in NYC. It was worth every penny to me.

[kkdk]

I took about a $70K paycut to go from Big Law to a plaintiffs' side firm, both in a major market. Don't regret it at all. The work is something I actually care about, and there are no billable hour requirements at all. Associate comp is more or less lockstep, and apparently partners can make big law partner money anyways.

[Anonymous User]

Leaving biglaw after less than a year to go in house at a mid-size media company. Going from $205k to $150k (bonuses included). Too early to say whether I will regret it, I suppose, but I definitely feel good about it right now. Also, at least for the next couple years, could make up the difference by doing part-time tutoring, and I'll still be working fewer (and, more importantly, more predictable) hours.

[Lurker123]

Leaving biglaw after less than a year to go in house at a mid-size media company. Going from $205k to $150k (bonuses included). Too early to say whether I will regret it, I suppose, but I definitely feel good about it right now. Also, at least for the next couple years, could make up the difference by doing part-time tutoring, and I'll still be working fewer (and, more importantly, more predictable) hours.

This is inspiring. I’m trying to flee asap into that industry and would def take an even larger pay cut to make it happen.

Did you have prior experience in the field or just constantly send out applications during your time in biglaw?

[Anonymous User]

Leaving biglaw after less than a year to go in house at a mid-size media company. Going from $205k to $150k (bonuses included). Too early to say whether I will regret it, I suppose, but I definitely feel good about it right now. Also, at least for the next couple years, could make up the difference by doing part-time tutoring, and I'll still be working fewer (and, more importantly, more predictable) hours.

This is inspiring. I’m trying to flee asap into that industry and would def take an even larger pay cut to make it happen.

Did you have prior experience in the field or just constantly send out applications during your time in biglaw?

The company I'm going to is somewhere I originally worked as a temp before law school (not in legal) and returned to during my 1L summer (in legal, obviously). It's a very small legal dept and I clicked with the people there, so I figured I might be able to return down the road, but didn't expect to get an offer this soon ... basically I got lucky that they had an uptick in work and needed somebody now. My plan was to stay in biglaw for at least 2 years before looking in house (or for a smaller media/entertainment firm), so I was not applying anywhere. Unfortunately, I get the sense that getting this sort of gig this early on requires this sort of timing/luck/connections; if they had hired somebody else, I'm sure they would have wanted somebody with at least a couple years at biglaw under their belt. That said, even though I wasn't applying, I did peruse job postings to get a sense of what's out there, and there are definitely positions available for junior lawyers, especially if you're willing to take a bigger pay cut (and work in LA or, to a lesser extent, NY). Might not be super plentiful, but it's possible.

I should also add, though, that I'm a little bit older (early to mid 30s), married, and looking to start a family soon, so the biglaw lifestyle (or lack thereof) was particularly unattractive with that on the horizon. If I were younger and more willing to grind it out, I might not have taken this position, given that you do narrow your career path options by going in-house so soon and can make a lot more money in biglaw. Given my background and career goals, I'm not too worried about that, but it is a factor.