BigLaw equity partner - generation vs. compensation

[Anonymous]

I can't relate to people who need to make $2 million/yr to have a "nice life", as if $1 million isn't sufficient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a spouse of a big law partner, so obviously take my read on things with a grain of salt as I don’t understand the in’s and outs as much as someone actually working in the industry. I do work full time in another professional field, and we do talk (frankly too much!) about partner compensation.

My spouse was a new non-equity partner last year with comp finishing at 1.2 with billing totaling 3.5 million I think. A solid amount of the work where my spouse should have been given origination credit was not attributed to them, but I hear that’s very common for junior partners. Promoted to equity this year and is told to expect at least 1.8 million. Works a lot but honestly doesn’t feel bad since it’s all relatively flexible compared to my more rigid work schedule.

I do think the whole thing really stresses my spouse out and I see some obsessiveness over the numbers and comp. I am not sure if that will change at all now that my spouse has been promoted to equity. I hope my spouse will feel more secure but am sure the focus will just shift to another competitive train of thought. It’s too early for us to say if it’s worth it yet.

Too early to say if equity versus non-equity is worth it? Why not? $600,000 more for the same job?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a spouse of a big law partner, so obviously take my read on things with a grain of salt as I don’t understand the in’s and outs as much as someone actually working in the industry. I do work full time in another professional field, and we do talk (frankly too much!) about partner compensation.

My spouse was a new non-equity partner last year with comp finishing at 1.2 with billing totaling 3.5 million I think. A solid amount of the work where my spouse should have been given origination credit was not attributed to them, but I hear that’s very common for junior partners. Promoted to equity this year and is told to expect at least 1.8 million. Works a lot but honestly doesn’t feel bad since it’s all relatively flexible compared to my more rigid work schedule.

I do think the whole thing really stresses my spouse out and I see some obsessiveness over the numbers and comp. I am not sure if that will change at all now that my spouse has been promoted to equity. I hope my spouse will feel more secure but am sure the focus will just shift to another competitive train of thought. It’s too early for us to say if it’s worth it yet.

Too early to say if equity versus non-equity is worth it? Why not? $600,000 more for the same job?

Most non equity partners are not making 1.2m. There is something else going on here. Maybe it was that high because they were on the verge of making equity. I know a couple non-equity partners and they are all below 1m.

[Anonymous]

OP: If you research on the internet, you can find an article or two which gives partner compensation at most of the major law firms. Hitting $2 million is not as common as one might think in biglaw.