Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer? Forum

(Discuss Advantages vs Disadvantages, Making the Switch From Private Practice to In-House, Compensation & Hours, Work-Life balance, In-House Reviews & Experiences)
Anonymous User
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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jul 17, 2017 7:17 pm

i went in-house as a 4th year in a quasi-legal role (mix of business and legal) in a large secondary market (SF/LA/Bos/Chi).

-200K
-10K signing
-10K bonus
- 6% 401K match

i transitioned from biglaw tech trans and the new role is also technology focused. no equity given the nature of the organization (happy to give more details if you want me to PM you). During my interview process i received offers between 180-300K, usually around 180-200K base with equity + bonus bringing it higher, but i turned a number of higher offers down for the opportunity to transition to a less purely legal role. incredibly happy i made the transition - work is now much more interesting, more control over my life, great people, great mission, and expanding my network in a very useful way.

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t-14orbust

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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by t-14orbust » Mon Jul 17, 2017 7:56 pm

Anonymous User wrote:i went in-house as a 4th year in a quasi-legal role (mix of business and legal) in a large secondary market (SF/LA/Bos/Chi).

-200K
-10K signing
-10K bonus
- 6% 401K match

i transitioned from biglaw tech trans and the new role is also technology focused. no equity given the nature of the organization (happy to give more details if you want me to PM you). During my interview process i received offers between 180-300K, usually around 180-200K base with equity + bonus bringing it higher, but i turned a number of higher offers down for the opportunity to transition to a less purely legal role. incredibly happy i made the transition - work is now much more interesting, more control over my life, great people, great mission, and expanding my network in a very useful way.
Please PM me with more info

PB&J.D.

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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by PB&J.D. » Mon Jul 17, 2017 8:10 pm

Anonymous User wrote:i went in-house as a 4th year in a quasi-legal role (mix of business and legal) in a large secondary market (SF/LA/Bos/Chi).

-200K
-10K signing
-10K bonus
- 6% 401K match

i transitioned from biglaw tech trans and the new role is also technology focused. no equity given the nature of the organization (happy to give more details if you want me to PM you). During my interview process i received offers between 180-300K, usually around 180-200K base with equity + bonus bringing it higher, but i turned a number of higher offers down for the opportunity to transition to a less purely legal role. incredibly happy i made the transition - work is now much more interesting, more control over my life, great people, great mission, and expanding my network in a very useful way.
Also interested. Thanks.

PotatoSalad

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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by PotatoSalad » Mon Jul 17, 2017 8:28 pm

Anonymous User wrote:i went in-house as a 4th year in a quasi-legal role (mix of business and legal) in a large secondary market (SF/LA/Bos/Chi).

-200K
-10K signing
-10K bonus
- 6% 401K match

i transitioned from biglaw tech trans and the new role is also technology focused. no equity given the nature of the organization (happy to give more details if you want me to PM you). During my interview process i received offers between 180-300K, usually around 180-200K base with equity + bonus bringing it higher, but i turned a number of higher offers down for the opportunity to transition to a less purely legal role. incredibly happy i made the transition - work is now much more interesting, more control over my life, great people, great mission, and expanding my network in a very useful way.
Me too please.

persia1921

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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by persia1921 » Mon Jul 17, 2017 8:39 pm

I would also appreciate a PM. Thanks!

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alleyoop86

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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by alleyoop86 » Tue Jul 18, 2017 1:19 pm

Anonymous User wrote:i went in-house as a 4th year in a quasi-legal role (mix of business and legal) in a large secondary market (SF/LA/Bos/Chi).

-200K
-10K signing
-10K bonus
- 6% 401K match

i transitioned from biglaw tech trans and the new role is also technology focused. no equity given the nature of the organization (happy to give more details if you want me to PM you). During my interview process i received offers between 180-300K, usually around 180-200K base with equity + bonus bringing it higher, but i turned a number of higher offers down for the opportunity to transition to a less purely legal role. incredibly happy i made the transition - work is now much more interesting, more control over my life, great people, great mission, and expanding my network in a very useful way.
Would love a PM with more info as well, thanks!

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Yugihoe

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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by Yugihoe » Tue Jul 18, 2017 1:30 pm

Anonymous User wrote:i went in-house as a 4th year in a quasi-legal role (mix of business and legal) in a large secondary market (SF/LA/Bos/Chi).

-200K
-10K signing
-10K bonus
- 6% 401K match

i transitioned from biglaw tech trans and the new role is also technology focused. no equity given the nature of the organization (happy to give more details if you want me to PM you). During my interview process i received offers between 180-300K, usually around 180-200K base with equity + bonus bringing it higher, but i turned a number of higher offers down for the opportunity to transition to a less purely legal role. incredibly happy i made the transition - work is now much more interesting, more control over my life, great people, great mission, and expanding my network in a very useful way.
Please PM me with more info!

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blurbz

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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by blurbz » Tue Jul 18, 2017 1:33 pm

Me, too, please?

beautyistruth

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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by beautyistruth » Tue Jul 18, 2017 1:35 pm

Me too. Actually, would welcome PMs from any posters on this thread. These all seem amazing.

Is any of this accessible to a general corporate associate?

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blurbz

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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by blurbz » Tue Jul 18, 2017 1:59 pm

beautyistruth wrote:Me too. Actually, would welcome PMs from any posters on this thread. These all seem amazing.

Is any of this accessible to a general corporate associate?

I think much of it is. I have a specialty and put some spin in my application materials to highlight my general corporate experience, too, because that's a significant part of most in-house jobs to which I've applied.

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Roy McAvoy

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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by Roy McAvoy » Tue Jul 18, 2017 3:50 pm

Anonymous User wrote:i went in-house as a 4th year in a quasi-legal role (mix of business and legal) in a large secondary market (SF/LA/Bos/Chi).

-200K
-10K signing
-10K bonus
- 6% 401K match

i transitioned from biglaw tech trans and the new role is also technology focused. no equity given the nature of the organization (happy to give more details if you want me to PM you). During my interview process i received offers between 180-300K, usually around 180-200K base with equity + bonus bringing it higher, but i turned a number of higher offers down for the opportunity to transition to a less purely legal role. incredibly happy i made the transition - work is now much more interesting, more control over my life, great people, great mission, and expanding my network in a very useful way.

PM please

lolwat

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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by lolwat » Tue Jul 18, 2017 3:58 pm

this thread makes me wish i went into corp and not lit

RedPurpleBlue

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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by RedPurpleBlue » Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:04 pm

lolwat wrote:this thread makes me wish i went into corp and not lit
FWIW, there are Product Liability and L&E in-house jobs on the lit side.

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omar.comin

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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by omar.comin » Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:10 pm

Anonymous User wrote:i went in-house as a 4th year in a quasi-legal role (mix of business and legal) in a large secondary market (SF/LA/Bos/Chi).

-200K
-10K signing
-10K bonus
- 6% 401K match

i transitioned from biglaw tech trans and the new role is also technology focused. no equity given the nature of the organization (happy to give more details if you want me to PM you). During my interview process i received offers between 180-300K, usually around 180-200K base with equity + bonus bringing it higher, but i turned a number of higher offers down for the opportunity to transition to a less purely legal role. incredibly happy i made the transition - work is now much more interesting, more control over my life, great people, great mission, and expanding my network in a very useful way.
Also would love a PM if you don't mind! I'll be a junior corp associate in the fall

Anonymous User
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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:49 pm

I went in-house after 1.5 years in big law into a general corporate counsel role. Big law and the in-house gig were/are both in LA. Salary package:

-130k base
- Discretionary bonus (which I'm told varies between 10 and 25%)
- Stock options (which I'm told varies between 13-15% per year)
- No 401k match
- 16 PTO days through year 4

omar.comin

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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by omar.comin » Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:58 pm

Anonymous User wrote:I went in-house after 1.5 years in big law into a general corporate counsel role. Big law and the in-house gig were/are both in LA. Salary package:

-130k base
- Discretionary bonus (which I'm told varies between 10 and 25%)
- Stock options (which I'm told varies between 13-15% per year)
- No 401k match
- 16 PTO days through year 4
Dude, awesome. Mind sharing which practice groups can best provide the opportunities to get a job like you did as a junior associate? (outside of tech trans, since I already know that seems best)

shock259

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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by shock259 » Tue Jul 18, 2017 11:12 pm

Thanks for all of the folks that have posted info. Understood that you don't want to divulge your practice area, but were you a corporate generalist when you were an associate? Did anyone specialize? Did anyone specialize and then go into a different area in house?

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CiFULA

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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by CiFULA » Wed Jul 19, 2017 12:11 am

Anonymous User wrote:i went in-house as a 4th year in a quasi-legal role (mix of business and legal) in a large secondary market (SF/LA/Bos/Chi).

-200K
-10K signing
-10K bonus
- 6% 401K match

i transitioned from biglaw tech trans and the new role is also technology focused. no equity given the nature of the organization (happy to give more details if you want me to PM you). During my interview process i received offers between 180-300K, usually around 180-200K base with equity + bonus bringing it higher, but i turned a number of higher offers down for the opportunity to transition to a less purely legal role. incredibly happy i made the transition - work is now much more interesting, more control over my life, great people, great mission, and expanding my network in a very useful way.
also curious thanks!

Anonymous User
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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jul 19, 2017 12:12 am

shock259 wrote:Thanks for all of the folks that have posted info. Understood that you don't want to divulge your practice area, but were you a corporate generalist when you were an associate? Did anyone specialize? Did anyone specialize and then go into a different area in house?
OP here - I was in a general corporate practice at firm that's well-regarded in several corporate practice areas. Did mix of M&A (mostly public company), CapM (both issuer and UW, public and private), some PE, and then corporate governance and public company rep (SEC filings, etc.). No specific finance/restructuring experience, but knew enough about it to not sound like an idiot. Having this broad exposure to various subsets of corporate practice was a huge boost during the interview process bc I had a variety of things I could discuss with familiarity/specificity as needed. Now I'll basically be doing the same things I've been doing but for one client (and without billable hours!)

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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jul 19, 2017 12:22 am

beautyistruth wrote:Me too. Actually, would welcome PMs from any posters on this thread. These all seem amazing.

Is any of this accessible to a general corporate associate?
Definitely available. Perhaps not as early as if you had tech trans experience but available nonetheless. Just have to be in the right place at the right time.

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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jul 19, 2017 12:46 am

Anonymous User wrote:OP here -- offer did end up coming through (hallelujah!), so thought it'd be helpful to include this as an additional data point since this position is not in CA/NYC.

$150k base
$37.5k bonus (variable; pegged to performance of the company)
$30k in RSUs and options
$20k sign-on bonus
6% 401k match
Congrats OP! Will you take it? When I made the jump (I'm the West Coast anon from 1st page who moved in house before 3rd year), it was a pretty easy decision due to QOL reasons but that may not rank as high for some...

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Anonymous User
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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jul 19, 2017 1:18 am

omar.comin wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:I went in-house after 1.5 years in big law into a general corporate counsel role. Big law and the in-house gig were/are both in LA. Salary package:

-130k base
- Discretionary bonus (which I'm told varies between 10 and 25%)
- Stock options (which I'm told varies between 13-15% per year)
- No 401k match
- 16 PTO days through year 4
Dude, awesome. Mind sharing which practice groups can best provide the opportunities to get a job like you did as a junior associate? (outside of tech trans, since I already know that seems best)
Thanks! I lucked out in that I did a mix of M&A, tech trans, and banking during my 1.5 years in big law, and the in-house role I got was for a mix of technology, finance, and general corporate governance. I definitely agree with the consensus that tech trans provides the "easiest" path in-house, followed by M&A. I generally wouldn't recommend a banking or finance practice group if the goal is to go in-house as a junior associate.

SplitMyPants

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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by SplitMyPants » Wed Jul 19, 2017 9:31 am

Anonymous User wrote:i went in-house as a 4th year in a quasi-legal role (mix of business and legal) in a large secondary market (SF/LA/Bos/Chi).

-200K
-10K signing
-10K bonus
- 6% 401K match

i transitioned from biglaw tech trans and the new role is also technology focused. no equity given the nature of the organization (happy to give more details if you want me to PM you). During my interview process i received offers between 180-300K, usually around 180-200K base with equity + bonus bringing it higher, but i turned a number of higher offers down for the opportunity to transition to a less purely legal role. incredibly happy i made the transition - work is now much more interesting, more control over my life, great people, great mission, and expanding my network in a very useful way.
also interested in a pm---thanks!

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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jul 19, 2017 10:23 am

Someone alluded to this above, but how do in-house opportunities compare between lit and corp? I'm an incoming litigation associate in a large market. Are there specialties within lit that will set up better down the road for this stuff?

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thexfactor

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Re: Typical In-House Salary Package for Junior Lawyer?

Post by thexfactor » Wed Jul 19, 2017 10:30 am

Anonymous User wrote:Someone alluded to this above, but how do in-house opportunities compare between lit and corp? I'm an incoming litigation associate in a large market. Are there specialties within lit that will set up better down the road for this stuff?
There aren't as many litigation inhouse jobs as transactional. Just look at goinhouse.com. Most of the jobs are actually tech trans based. The rest are compliance, M&A, securities, or regulatory based. There are very few litigation related inhouse jobs.

I would try to get into some specialized regulatory work.It seems like there are some opportunities there.

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