What are BigLaw "perks"? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I have heard a lot anecdotally and online about the "perks" that come with biglaw. Obviously at the price of the hours/lifestyle. But I'm not exactly clear what these could be?
I think the most basic one I've come to understand is that you can order in dinner on the office dime after 8pm in most offices...
What else though? Do certain firms have more "perks" than others (if so which ones)?

[NoLongerALurker]

Some firms have like concierge services. One this year was like "You can use this service to plan your kids bday party" which I found unintentionally hilarious.

The best perk is that if you don't want to do something social you can always just blame work and everyone believes you.

[Anonymous User]

Firms post a bunch of information on their website - there's some things you probably wouldn't think about, like private banking.

[Anonymous User]

Family planning and parental leave. Biglaw firms have really stepped up, with a number of firms now offering free egg freezing and fertility treatments. Big law maternal leave is also comparatively generous, with most firms offering 5 months with full pay.

[Anonymous User]

I just joined a big law firm and I don't quite get the concierge service. What exactly do people use it for? Like chores around the house? Or more like hotel concierge with bookings, etc.?

Also is private banking legit? (Not legit as in legal, but is there a meaningful difference?)

[whats an updog]

The concierge service can be used for a bunch of shit. I want tickets to this, get them for me. I want you to do research on the best summer camps in my area for kids aged 5-6 and into music. Etc. Whatever you want, call them up and have them research or find stuff for you. My firm also offers like 30 days of childcare too, free, through a third-party contractor. You can either do on-site or off-site at your home. They have mental health services (24/7 hotline, plus referral to therapist with something like 10 sessions per issue totally comped outside of insurance), financial advising through third-party, and recently we get money each month to spend through a food delivery app.

The parental leave, egg freezing, fertility treatments, and breast milk shipping services are no joke either.

Although this isn't really a perk, I have always been amazed at just being able to dial up doc processing or the firm technical support staff at like 2 am to help me with some dumb shit.

All of it is great, but also totally not enough.

[Anonymous User]

Not an actual "perk" but easy to underestimate until you don't have it anymore: you tend to work with and across from people who are bright and (generally) share the same sense of urgency/ level of commitment. Of course this also is the reason why biglaw can be miserable, but it's nice to have at least a good chunk of juniors who "get it" (or can figure it out) and you can trust to run with tasks without micromanaging.

[lawanon9]

Although this is firm dependent, quite a few places allow after tax contributions to your 401(k) that you can then convert into a backdoor Roth IRA. This is imho the most underrated perk and it always surprises me that people don't consider this when choosing where to work, since it is worth so much money in the long term.

[Anonymous User]

The concierge service can be used for a bunch of shit. I want tickets to this, get them for me. I want you to do research on the best summer camps in my area for kids aged 5-6 and into music. Etc. Whatever you want, call them up and have them research or find stuff for you. My firm also offers like 30 days of childcare too, free, through a third-party contractor. You can either do on-site or off-site at your home. They have mental health services (24/7 hotline, plus referral to therapist with something like 10 sessions per issue totally comped outside of insurance), financial advising through third-party, and recently we get money each month to spend through a food delivery app.

The parental leave, egg freezing, fertility treatments, and breast milk shipping services are no joke either.

Although this isn't really a perk, I have always been amazed at just being able to dial up doc processing or the firm technical support staff at like 2 am to help me with some dumb shit.

All of it is great, but also totally not enough.

15-30 days of free backup child care is something, but one thing I would wish for is onsite child care. Only a few BigLaw firms/offices offer subsidized onsite, and backup/emergency care feels like it's insufficient. My firm is in a building with like 6 other big firms and it seems like if there was a center on-site with agreements with firms, it would be a big win for all.

[Anonymous User]

The best perk is that if you don't want to do something social you can always just blame work and everyone believes you.

This is a big one for me

[Anonymous User]

Family planning and parental leave. Biglaw firms have really stepped up, with a number of firms now offering free egg freezing and fertility treatments. Big law maternal leave is also comparatively generous, with most firms offering 5 months with full pay.

How about paternal leave? My fiance is going to be a medial resident so it's much easier for me to take leave than her. Do most firms offer equal paternal leave to maternal leave?

[Anonymous User]

Family planning and parental leave. Biglaw firms have really stepped up, with a number of firms now offering free egg freezing and fertility treatments. Big law maternal leave is also comparatively generous, with most firms offering 5 months with full pay.

How about paternal leave? My fiance is going to be a medial resident so it's much easier for me to take leave than her. Do most firms offer equal paternal leave to maternal leave?

Yes my firm offers 18 weeks parental leave, but then birthing mothers get to combine that with short term disability which gets them up to 6 months.

[Anonymous User]

Although this is firm dependent, quite a few places allow after tax contributions to your 401(k) that you can then convert into a backdoor Roth IRA. This is imho the most underrated perk and it always surprises me that people don't consider this when choosing where to work, since it is worth so much money in the long term.

How do you know if your firm offers this?

[Anonymous User]

Although this is firm dependent, quite a few places allow after tax contributions to your 401(k) that you can then convert into a backdoor Roth IRA. This is imho the most underrated perk and it always surprises me that people don't consider this when choosing where to work, since it is worth so much money in the long term.

How do you know if your firm offers this?

There's a thread on this. But if you're already at a firm you have to open your 401(k) Benefits Package. If they allow for after tax contributions to a 401(k) and allow in plan rollovers you can do a mega backdoor roth.

[notinbiglaw]

Relative to Big 4:
You get actual assistants that are actually helpful and do less menial admin stuff
Nicer offices, more desk space.
More generous budget for lunch/dinner for staying late
Just much nicer social events where someone else is footing the bill

[Jchance]

Although this is firm dependent, quite a few places allow after tax contributions to your 401(k) that you can then convert into a backdoor Roth IRA. This is imho the most underrated perk and it always surprises me that people don't consider this when choosing where to work, since it is worth so much money in the long term.

+1. Essentially the only "perk" I care about.

[Anonymous User]

The concierge service can be used for a bunch of shit. I want tickets to this, get them for me. I want you to do research on the best summer camps in my area for kids aged 5-6 and into music. Etc. Whatever you want, call them up and have them research or find stuff for you. My firm also offers like 30 days of childcare too, free, through a third-party contractor. You can either do on-site or off-site at your home. They have mental health services (24/7 hotline, plus referral to therapist with something like 10 sessions per issue totally comped outside of insurance), financial advising through third-party, and recently we get money each month to spend through a food delivery app.

The parental leave, egg freezing, fertility treatments, and breast milk shipping services are no joke either.

Although this isn't really a perk, I have always been amazed at just being able to dial up doc processing or the firm technical support staff at like 2 am to help me with some dumb shit.

All of it is great, but also totally not enough.

egg freezing and breast milk shipping, all so you can churn boring documents all day for Goldman Sachs. jfc what a sad world we live in

[Anonymous User]

Relative to Big 4:
You get actual assistants that are actually helpful and do less menial admin stuff
Nicer offices, more desk space.
More generous budget for lunch/dinner for staying late
Just much nicer social events where someone else is footing the bill

This is just not true.

[Anonymous User]

Relative to Big 4:
You get actual assistants that are actually helpful and do less menial admin stuff
Nicer offices, more desk space.
More generous budget for lunch/dinner for staying late
Just much nicer social events where someone else is footing the bill

This is just not true.

Do you get your own office at a Big4? In biglaw, you get your own office after one or two years.

[Anonymous User]

In addition to what others have said, there are lots of little things that can add up, like the firm generally not being afraid to spend on expenses. This may vary by firm, but mine seems to have little issue buying free food/coffee/alcohol for the office, reimbursing travel and BD expenses, putting you in 4 or 5 star hotels when on the road, covering all relocation expenses, etc. Having worked in another field, I can tell you that lots of companies get realllllllly anal about nickel and diming their employees for all sorts of crap, and not having to worry about much pushback on anything in BigLaw is nice. They make their profit by driving up revenue (aka insane billing rates + working you long hours) not by bean-counting costs.

Another "perk" is honestly just the fact that associate comp is lockstep. For those who haven't had to deal with it, I can assure you that needing to negotiate your salary, ask for raises every year, etc. is a huge pain in the ass. Then your review gets delayed because something came up with your boss, the company isn't doing great that year so they fuck you on a raise, there's no room to promote you to a new role because someone else would have to leave first (or they can't easily replace your current position)... the list goes on. In BigLaw, you're a first year, then a second year, then a third year, and at each step you are guaranteed a set raise. Things don't become messy until 6-10 years in, which means many years of avoiding the usual bullshit.

[bajablast]

Relative to Big 4:
You get actual assistants that are actually helpful and do less menial admin stuff
Nicer offices, more desk space.
More generous budget for lunch/dinner for staying late
Just much nicer social events where someone else is footing the bill

This is just not true.

Do you get your own office at a Big4? In biglaw, you get your own office after one or two years.

Definitely true. Sheet, I got my own office my first year lol.

[Anonymous User]

Are you in NYC? Big 4 in NYC uses hotelling stations meaning that you have to reserve your spot beforehand. Only partners have their own offices and they are way shittier than law firm offices.

[Anonymous User]

I was able to get our firm's box at MSG for a few events that no one else wanted to go to... that was a huge perk, and one that associates don't take advantage of nearly enough

[Rule23andMe]

Another "perk" is honestly just the fact that associate comp is lockstep.

Definitely true & underappreciated. In my pre-law career it was fairly common to miss out on many thousands of $$ (both in base salary + bonus proration) while waiting on HR to coordinate the transitions required for promotions into other teams. Not to mention those who were on slower promotion "tracks" than others in the first place.

[MrLions]

Although this is firm dependent, quite a few places allow after tax contributions to your 401(k) that you can then convert into a backdoor Roth IRA. This is imho the most underrated perk and it always surprises me that people don't consider this when choosing where to work, since it is worth so much money in the long term.

Does your firm allow you to do Mega Back Door Roth? If so, how much can you do?