The Truth About a Big Law Firm Salary

I'd imagine the big law job almost required living in NYC, ie you could try and find it in not such a big city; but the odds were if you get a biglaw job it's in NYC or similar size city. I wouldn't buy a house because prices are high and they did crash in 2008, my mom's house is double what it was in 2016 (you'd think she'd thank Trump for that, but nope!) The biggest issue is taxes, investors & founders can pay nothing when they make $10 million on a 5 yr VC investment and 20% on gains above 10 million for the same qualifying business; but employees are looking at $58k in taxes for that $170k job. I'd suggest roommates on a bigger place, but at 5k in room and board that's more than half of after tax income. Realistically, you'd put $7k into a roth and $23,500k into 401k and about $5k into vacation with $10k for student loans and a bit for spending, by the time student loan payments rise you'd make more. Hopefully, they did some matching for 401k. You'd get a little back on that 401k and those savings could go towards down payment on a house eventually. Amazingly, it's not really that lucrative. A day trader in FL making $170k pays half the taxes! Along with no inflated rent, less student loans (they don't need a degree, but may have one) and anything not spent goes to increasing capital and potentially dollar returns.

It's even worse when you work at a small firm where 1st, 2nd or even 3rd year associate salaries don't break six figures. You can't even point to your salary as a silver-lining in face of all the soul-crushing, anxiety-inducing work and long hours.

Having bronze handcuffs is slightly better than golden handcuffs though!

What do you buy with all that money? Apparently you buy a weird duck mask.

I was thinking los angeles but new york is good too

You were working what, 65-70 hours a week during that time period? If so you were earning less than $50 per hour on your salary. Honestly, I feel sorry for you, and for others that get duped by the Big Law Con. Factually, while associates at law firms toil away, hoping to get around 35 per hour after tax for one of their 10-12 hour days, bored DUI lawyers earn $1,500 in a ten minute plea deal (and may do one in the morning, and then come back for another $1,500 with a case on the afternoon docket). A solo family law practitioner can easily bank 3k in 3 hours or so doing Final Divorce Settlement Conferences, a Personal Injury Lawyer will make far more money, in even less time. SMH. . . .

Not a money chaser....
you can actually make that as an Assistant Princpal in a H.S.

Golden cuffs were the premise of “The Firm”

They pay you a lot cause you gotta pay off that law school debt

Very informative! I think about pursuing a career in law but I’m worried about not having a lot of free time. I’ve heard people say that with a career in law the work follows you home. That’s SCARY because I cherish my free time! I don’t wanna think about work when I come home to binge-watch Family Matters 😂

Im a Massage Therapist & im able to have a nice work-life balance,but we definitely don’t make as much as Attorneys do of course lol

Make sure you’re happy with what you do every day. If you’re not happy to wake up and go to your job, you’re not successful and all the money in the world will not fix that.

Question: how do I avoid graduating from a law school that doesn't even break the top 50, and a decade out of law school, having nothing but pro bono work for the previous five years?

Are you rich 🤑 ?

I was a corporate attorney for almost three years. I started at $130K back in 2010 out of law school at a big firm. Some weeks I only worked an average of 40-50 hours per week but there were many times when I would just have to work 60 up to 80 Hours in a week for several weeks when something was pressing and needing to be done. I remember one weekend I cancelled plans to work on a brief all weekend that ended up not even being needed when I went in to work on Monday.
I knew it was not for me and I just didn't have the personality for that lifestyle long term. I was able to pay off a major portion of my school loans on that salary though and then took a job in house where I worked a more normal 9-5 or 9-6 schedule the vast majority of weeks and very rarely any weekend work. Once in awhile things got hectic but they do so in most careers once in awhile.
I enjoy the new job a lot more and I still make a good salary of high 5 figures almost 6 figures at this point. It was well worth the pay cut in my opinion to not be burned out and stressed all of the time.

Did you get married? Have kids?

Walked away as a senior associate after 4 years. Had nothing lined up. Landed an in-house gig, 4 days 9-5. Very interesting work. Today, it pays better than my last lawfirm salary.

hello ma'am,
I am from India, if I do my bachelors in law from India and then come to do my masters in Law from USA and then pass the bar exam over there, will I be eligible to practice in USA or in law firms of USA ?

i'd rather earn 100k a year but go home 5pm every day and not take the job home with me than to earn 200k a year and be expected to work overtime and take the job with me home and answer phone calls any time of the day

A true person is more than willing to help and stay in line ..but no one is perfect but good and truth there wornge hurt no one . But the root of evil is and do hurt any on purpose out of the use of any vessel who don't ,be careful of what u want in life that is .

On your cover u got 170 k 🙄

Good points. Imho, go into big law if you really want to. Don’t go if you want to pay off your debt. Choose a law school based on cost and employment data released by bar association.

My best friend sent me this vid and I thought she was messing with me. Sorry, but $190k for a 25 yr old graduate is ridiculous. While here, I am, a 24 yr old( turning 25 next month) med school student drowning in debt. $210k and counting. Maybe I should've been a lawyer!?! How old were you when you graduated law school and started working?

Hi Angela! I love your videos – thanks for all the valuable advice. You should consider (I'm sure you do already) writing a book. You have great content in your videos and replies. I'd recommend writing the book bluntly like "The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law", but with your usual associate mindset. Good luck, and keep going.

Leaving the city was the best thing I did

What are the people like at these BigLaw firms? For instance when you come in on Monday morning is it like, "Hey Bob did you watch the game this weekend?" or "Hey did you watch the Grammys last night?" Can you just have a casual conversation with the managers/partners or is it just all-work, all-serious, all the time?

By the way, what's super interesting is that these US firm salaries are paid to the lawyers (or as we call em, solicitors) in their offices abroad! I'm a law student in London, and the UK law market is not as profitable as that of NYC. Yet, the salaries paid to associates in London from US firms are the same, while UK firms won't match em! So, it's really not about the place you're in, it's about the amount of money in the US legal market, and the fact that they make you work more than and UK firm would :)

You seem so intelligent and mature

Can you please tell me how you knew that you wanted to be a lawyer?? I thought I wanted to be one in 10th grade, and now, I’m a senior in high school and I don’t think that I want to be a lawyer anymore. I don’t really know what I want to be anymore, I’m so confused

firms in australia pay first yr junior solicitor 50k? wtf

Some lawyers really work their asses off and I sometimes wonder if it's worth it to them?

have you ever thought of being a mentor ?

R u a lawyer and if so what thpe

Great video. Helped me a lot. Thanks for making it!

Not shitting on it but been doing a lot of research on best paying jobs(probably why the algorithm suggested this) Don’t have a degree or any debt and gonna make this at 25. Probably gonna be around 500k by 30-35. Still not enough to be considered really rich. Just really shows that you can’t get rich working 9-5 when this is almost near perfection of jobs that you can get going the traditional route. Lawyers have better job security but I hate the risk you have to take before hand and how very few people could accomplish the requirements for this job. Best case scenario, I can see someone investing there money immediately but still just not worth the initial debt and time lost it takes

Hello Angela I just subscribed to your channel and thank you so much for your advice, you have allowed me to think about my career path a lot in the past few days. I would just like to ask I am confused if I should try to pursue a JD. I am interested in diplomacy, travelling. Fashion investing, tech and law. Originally I really wanted to be a lawyer but now I really do not know. I have spoken to so many university counsellors and I am not sure what to do until I watched your video about greying skills in tech and business. I am really stuck in my career choice and really don’t know anything that would fit the criteria mentioned. Do you have any suggestions Angela, I would really appreciate it. Just feel lost and stuck right now

Did you say you are getting another degree? If so what is that? sorry, I did not hear.

I was making 150K and was wiping my ass with newspaper.

She should have bought her freedom. Pay down debt and started investing. Wage slaving for life is a horrible way to live.

Wow.. im going to law school this fall and this is sooo useful. Thank you!!!

Sorry usa *

In which country, are you talking about ? Is it uss ?

So basically.. high salary doesn’t guarantee persons ability to manage money. From rags to riches syndrome.

Hey I am from India have completed my degree in law..
Can you suggest me some law firms which hire employee from my country.. I also have done masters in computer science..

For 90 hrs a week? Nope. Not a lot. That's like $45/hr. Which is good but considering the amount of schooling and impact to your health this profession has..... Makes no damn sense.

Good that you can work on cases that mean something to you.

Btw I live in Manhattan, in Chelsea to be specific. 170 K here does not go that far. lets begin with rent, a average walk up 1 bedroom here starts at $3300, that's 43000 a year, right there. Most of us send our laundry-dry cleaning out- add 1500 a year, coned another 2000 a year, Atnt 2000 a year, gym membership- my equinox charges me 170, so that 2040 a year. that's 50K a year right there. NOW you add clothing, traveling, food etc! Btw the expenses I just mentioned is if you are single- if you are supporting a spouse or have kids.. a 2 bedroom starts at 4200 and up, so go figure. So if you make 170, you are bringing home about 120, that's about 10 thousand dollars a month, that's not really a lot of money here in NY. once more thing I'll tell you that's particular about living in the city- somehow in the city you have the urge to eat out more then if you did if you live in the country.

Great video, you laid it all out in a great presentation.

thank you sm! i want to be a corporate lawyer and work in mergers and acquisitions and it was just wonderful hearing you talk about the real experience of being a lawyer! do you think that biglaw, considering the salary, is worth it? 205k is definitely a lot of money, but ppl say that since you work so many long hrs, biglaw isn’t even fun? what do you personally think?