Does It Pay To Work for Biglaw?

Yes, but it costs too:

The median salary spread for a 1st year associate at a 2 -25 lawyer firm versus a 500+ firm is $77,000. When the reference group is a 51-100 lawyer law firm versus 500+, the differential is still a substantial $55,000 per year. Cumulatively, for all eight years of the associate track, the spread amounts to $631,000 for 2-25 vs. 500+ lawyer firms and $524,000 for 51-100 vs. 500+.

In other words, the bimodal distribution discussed in an earlier post appears to hold fairly steady during the first several years of a young associate's career. In fact, most 8th year associates at firms smaller than 250 lawyers are making less than a 1st year associate at a 500+ lawyer firm.

Obviously, the propensity toward long hours is much greater at larger law firms, with 46.8% working at least 60 hours per week. Indeed, only 12.9% of the associates in 200+ law firms are working less than 50 hours per week.

But the bottom-line is this: 60 hours is a long workweek. For many people, eights years of this pace may not be worth the $631,000 (2-25 lawyer shop) or $524,000 (50-100 lawyer firm) pay differential. After all, these years are the prime of many lawyers' lives. Solving this work-life balance issue is the holy grail for this up-and-coming generation of young lawyers.

It is worth noting that many lawyers in smaller firms end up earning a comfortable living (e.g., in my recent ISBA survey, a median partner in a 2-5 lawyer firm in Indiana makes $112,500 per year and works approximately 49 hours per week; the 75th percentile earns $162,500 per year; the 90th, $225,000).

For many young lawyers (but not all), patience and careful planning may be the best route to a practice setting that provides financial rewards, interesting work, and sustainable work/family balance. I encourage my students to keep their eyes open and take charge of their careers, starting now, while in law school.

(HT Above the Law)