Got a biglaw offer, but the pay seems low

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a Catholic grad who has worked for the government and big law and as in house council. There's no reason to think you can't have a great job.

So you know someone who graduated in the top 10% (~20 out of about 170) and was on law review! Seems like quite the gamble.

I went to Catholic and graduated in the mid-2000s, and I am in-house counsel at a very well-respected large company based in DC. I graduated in the middle to the bottom of my class. Most of my friends are doing well -- one of my closest friends is SVP of a bank and another is a partner at a big law firm in DC. Granted, I graduated in one of the last years where the market for attorneys was actually good, so the quality of graduates was probably higher there than it is now.

You are part of the problem. Next time I run into a Catholic grad on the doc review circuit I'll let you know.

I am part of the problem? Because I don't fit your "all Catholic grads suck" narrative? In every law school in any given year there will be students who go on to be successful, regardless of where they went to school and where they graduated in their class. I think what is important is that prospective law students are provided complete and accurate employment statistics BEFORE going to law school, not ones that have been skewed by career services. Over the last few years the ABA has cracked down on misleading employment statistics, and schools have been forced to publish more accurate employment figures, which is a good thing, because now law students can only blame themselves if they take on massive debt to go to a law school with dismal employment statistics.

i think pp meant you're part of the problem because you graduated from Catholic in the mid 2000s around the middle of your class and you and everyone you know have achieved success in the law. someone in the middle or bottom of the class from Catholic now is utterly screwed and likely won't eke out an existence in law. having said all of that, i think that the law school scam has been covered so extensively in the media by this point that a student has only him/herself to blame for going to a lower-ranked school and not dropping out after the first year if they aren't in the top 10% or so.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I've accepted the offer. And for all you jealous haters who are saying the firm isn't biglaw - I confirmed their clients are, for the most part, Fortune 500 companies embroiled in big-time litigation. Sounds like biglaw to me.

[Anonymous]

Oh no, this was definitely a troll. You just tipped your hand OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I've accepted the offer. And for all you jealous haters who are saying the firm isn't biglaw - I confirmed their clients are, for the most part, Fortune 500 companies embroiled in big-time litigation. Sounds like biglaw to me.

You don't know what biglaw means. Wilson Elser is not Biglaw. Not to be disparaging. It just isn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Nobody gives a shit what law school I went to at my firm because I do good work. And also because nobody gives a shit what law school you went to or what journal you were on or what your class rank was after the first few years of practice.

I actually don't think this is true. a dear friend of mine was at a poor law school and with a substantial amount of luck landing a fed job. (This is back in the early 2000's when the legal market was vastly stronger.) He ended up in a regulatory practice area that became highly sought after by private firms. After about 6 years he interviewed with firms and they gave him a hard time about his law school.
So while it might not matter if you stay put- it is still going to matter if you try to switch jobs.

[Anonymous]

OP is either a troll or a moron.

Big law? Nope. Not even in the realm.

So, you thought you should be offered 210K and instead were offered 90 and took the job? Interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Nobody gives a shit what law school I went to at my firm because I do good work. And also because nobody gives a shit what law school you went to or what journal you were on or what your class rank was after the first few years of practice.

I actually don't think this is true. a dear friend of mine was at a poor law school and with a substantial amount of luck landing a fed job. (This is back in the early 2000's when the legal market was vastly stronger.) He ended up in a regulatory practice area that became highly sought after by private firms. After about 6 years he interviewed with firms and they gave him a hard time about his law school.
So while it might not matter if you stay put- it is still going to matter if you try to switch jobs.

I recently lateraled to biglaw (from midlaw) as a senior associate (close to partnership level), and I was asked for my law school transcript. It seemed like a mere formality, but the fact that they ask you for that 8-9 years after you graduated is telling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP is either a troll or a moron.

Big law? Nope. Not even in the realm.

So, you thought you should be offered 210K and instead were offered 90 and took the job? Interesting.

Rude. Also, can you disprove that WEMED is biglaw? They represent huge corporations.

[Anonymous]

I'm the grist mill PP and a former WE attorney. It's not "big law" - it's just a law firm with a lot of lawyers. But congrats on being employed. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I've accepted the offer. And for all you jealous haters who are saying the firm isn't biglaw - I confirmed their clients are, for the most part, Fortune 500 companies embroiled in big-time litigation. Sounds like biglaw to me.

Who cares if its BigLaw or TeenyTinyLaw -- it's what's in your paycheck, QoW, and QoL that counts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I've accepted the offer. And for all you jealous haters who are saying the firm isn't biglaw - I confirmed their clients are, for the most part, Fortune 500 companies embroiled in big-time litigation. Sounds like biglaw to me.

You don't know what biglaw means. Wilson Elser is not Biglaw. Not to be disparaging. It just isn't.

agreed. A friend of mine worked big law. Her starting salary as a fresh out was $170K. And that was back in 2006.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I've accepted the offer. And for all you jealous haters who are saying the firm isn't biglaw - I confirmed their clients are, for the most part, Fortune 500 companies embroiled in big-time litigation. Sounds like biglaw to me.

You don't know what biglaw means. Wilson Elser is not Biglaw. Not to be disparaging. It just isn't.

agreed. A friend of mine worked big law. Her starting salary as a fresh out was $170K. And that was back in 2006.

This is a minor quibble, but I am pretty certain your friend's starting salary in 2006 was $160k, not $170k (although her bonus might have been another $10k, so maybe that's what you meant?). Also, although this was "back in 2006", those starting salaries did not budge for a decade, until just earlier this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I've accepted the offer. And for all you jealous haters who are saying the firm isn't biglaw - I confirmed their clients are, for the most part, Fortune 500 companies embroiled in big-time litigation. Sounds like biglaw to me.

You don't know what biglaw means. Wilson Elser is not Biglaw. Not to be disparaging. It just isn't.

agreed. A friend of mine worked big law. Her starting salary as a fresh out was $170K. And that was back in 2006.

This is a minor quibble, but I am pretty certain your friend's starting salary in 2006 was $160k, not $170k (although her bonus might have been another $10k, so maybe that's what you meant?). Also, although this was "back in 2006", those starting salaries did not budge for a decade, until just earlier this year.

[Anonymous]

OP you there? You still have a job? I was googling the firm and this popped up, just like previous posters said it would. Hilarious thread.

[Anonymous]

Night of the Living Thread