Super frustrated re dh’s salary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite PSA about not being a lawyer:

https://youtu.be/Xs-UEqJ85KE

that's awesome

+1. That was really funny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite PSA about not being a lawyer:

https://youtu.be/Xs-UEqJ85KE

that's awesome

+1. That was really funny.

+1 and accurate

[Anonymous]

This should be in the jobs forum. It's a great forum IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite PSA about not being a lawyer:

https://youtu.be/Xs-UEqJ85KE

that's awesome

Same! I've neer seen that video!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My favorite PSA about not being a lawyer:

https://youtu.be/Xs-UEqJ85KE

Every little step I take, you will be there.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You shouldn't have been spending to the limit of your income in the first place; counting on a bonus is always risky. If the firm profits went down by 20 percent, then partner comp will go down, because that's what it means to be a partner. (It also means that you need to bring in your own business, and that you need to be sure that your billables are also collectible.) You don't say whether most other partners' comp was reduced by about the same amount, or whether your husband was an outlier. If it's the latter, they are nudging him out the door.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He should polish his resume. He's being managed out.

+1

The employer will never tell you that : "why yes, in fact we ARE pushing you out! How did you know?" Yeah, no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hiring pro Bono and diversity are not respected and career advancing areas to be spending his time on OP

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband works extremely hard. He is a law partner and has put in extremely long hours every year and is usually compensated well for his work. He also does a lot of special things for his firm. Last year was a bad year for the firm because the corporate side (he isn’t a corporate lawyer) over-hired in 2020
& 2021) and overall profits were down 20%. Dh billed in the top 10% of partners in his practice area and top 2% of all partners and yet he just learned that his bonus and overall comp are going down 25% and he’s being moved down a level of partnership. He is really upset, questioning all his choices, etc.
I have no one I can talk to about this irl. I’m sad for him, worried about our expenses, and I know he is worried about his job security.
And yes, I do have my own job but fortunately I have a lot of job security. Unfortunately I also make a lot less than he does.

What does he make? Lawyers can tell you if he is in the right window.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Billed hours is not the same as collected hours. Could this be relevant ?

If your husband was as productive & as lucrative as you write, then there is another issue which has not been shared. Law firms love money & law firms love those with high billables and high collectibles. For some unstated reason, this firm does not value your husband's production as merited by the statements in your post.

My impression is that the law firm is encouraging your husband to look elsewhere.

OP:Your husband is the person with whom you should speak about this.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You shouldn't have been spending to the limit of your income in the first place; counting on a bonus is always risky. If the firm profits went down by 20 percent, then partner comp will go down, because that's what it means to be a partner. (It also means that you need to bring in your own business, and that you need to be sure that your billables are also collectible.) You don't say whether most other partners' comp was reduced by about the same amount, or whether your husband was an outlier. If it's the latter, they are nudging him out the door.

+1

+1. My husband works at Goldman Sachs. Bonus pool for partners is way down this year. You need to manage your expectations. It's not always realistic to say don't count on a bonus when that's a signifiant portion of someone's compensation, but your husband needs to make sure his expectations match reality.

[Anonymous]

Big law lawyer here. There are so many "buckets" for compensation its hard to tell, but for sure frustrating. Typically you might get a base salary, then a "bonus" on the revenue you generated (billable hours and originating hours collected), and then everyone splits the Firm's profit somehow. The split might be related to seniority, or percentage of ownership, or stupid crap like who likes you and who doesn't.

So, DH probably got his base salary, and probably got the "bonus" related to worked hours, but the share of profit will be lower because the firm as a whole made less money.

What is troubling is the step down on the Partner rung? That does seem concerning. They should want to keep people that work hard. Perhaps he is doing work for other partner's clients and the clients aren't his own?