If you have been a biglaw partner for 10+ years, how much wealth have you accumulated?

[Anonymous]

Obviously the pay is good, but curiously how much $$ is accumulated after you've been at it for a while.

[Anonymous]

Big question is equity or non-equity. At most firms, you're going to be nonequity for a while, in which case you'll be taking home not much more than a very senior associate or counsel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Big question is equity or non-equity. At most firms, you're going to be nonequity for a while, in which case you'll be taking home not much more than a very senior associate or counsel.

Junior partners at some firms take home less, after they pay for health insurance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Big question is equity or non-equity. At most firms, you're going to be nonequity for a while, in which case you'll be taking home not much more than a very senior associate or counsel.

Junior partners at some firms take home less, after they pay for health insurance.

True at my firm - v25.

[Anonymous]

10 year = 3M plus paid off all debt

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:10 year = 3M plus paid off all debt

There is absolutely no way to answer this question without knowing the person's spending habits, and to a lesser degree the debt they had to get the degrees.

Someone who spends pretty freely might not have that much saved. Someone who doesn't live that big could easily have a lot more amassed in terms of wealth.

We have that much amassed, even without making partner; and if we had made partner, it would have been for much less than 10 yrs at this point. But we also live well below our means.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:10 year = 3M plus paid off all debt

There is absolutely no way to answer this question without knowing the person's spending habits, and to a lesser degree the debt they had to get the degrees.

Someone who spends pretty freely might not have that much saved. Someone who doesn't live that big could easily have a lot more amassed in terms of wealth.

We have that much amassed, even without making partner; and if we had made partner, it would have been for much less than 10 yrs at this point. But we also live well below our means.

This. For example that number sounds low and I never made partner. 8 yrs of biglaw ASSOCIATE life + getting pushed out and being unemployed for a yr + a gov't job (non GS). But I think that's because I've been an investor since I was a 3rd yr associate.

[Anonymous]

Anyone thinks a 10+ year biglaw equity partner hits $10m+?

So...say you are 24 when you graduate law school...associate for 8 years? Non-equity for 3 years? Equity partner for 10 years...at 45 I would think if you save & invest you could have $10m+.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone thinks a 10+ year biglaw equity partner hits $10m+?

So...say you are 24 when you graduate law school...associate for 8 years? Non-equity for 3 years? Equity partner for 10 years...at 45 I would think if you save & invest you could have $10m+.

Depends on where you are an equity partner and at my firm v25 -- department matters the most as comp varies a lot with corporate being paid WAY more than litigation and WAY WAY more than the support departments. Most people graduate at 25. Most firms are NOT making partners in 8 yrs anymore -- maybe the very very top firms but not anything ranked below v10. At my firm, I can't think of a single associate who has made it recently who is less than a 12th yr -- they keep pushing people off bc they realize they can as your ability to lateral keeps dwindling and they keep dangling the -- if you stay, you have a shot. So that makes you 37ish when you make it. Highly doubt you're at 10 mil at age 45 - unless you're super frugal which is hard in NYC.

[Anonymous]

Too many variables to answer this easily. NEP and EP comp ranges enormously. Using the average PPP for the big DC firms - currently around $1.5m - one would expect an equity partner to have saved over $5m in 10 years. But of course in most cases it takes 10 years or more to get to that "average" comp level, so savings is generally going to be lower than that. Add in private schools, expensive vacations, fancy cars, excessive housing costs, and it could be much lower. DH has been equity partner at an average DC firm for 5 years and we are able to save $200-plus per year, about one-third of that pre-tax. We are nowhere near the mean PPP yet, but expect to get there eventually and to save all of the increase. To answer the question about, I think it would be extremely difficult to get to $10m in 10 years - maybe at the v10 wall street firms it could be done, but in DC it would be very rare, as in maybe 1 or 2 people at each prominent firm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Big question is equity or non-equity. At most firms, you're going to be nonequity for a while, in which case you'll be taking home not much more than a very senior associate or counsel.

That's a misleading thing to say though because some of that money is going towards repaying your capital contribution which you will most likely eventually get back. Also, a lot of firms have mandatory retirement contributions so that is building your net worth as well. So yeah, while your take home may go down your overall comp still increased.

[Anonymous]

So, one multi-millionaire and two kinda-sorta? Isn’t DC loaded with Biglaw people? I thought this thread would be filled with moneybag responses.

[Anonymous]

For some people, lifestyle expands with income. In particular, you get the big house --- but mostly on the idea that you'll be making big bucks for years to come. So you've got a big house, but perhaps still not a big pile in the bank in the early years after making partner.

[Anonymous]

It's hard to stack coins until the line between oppressor and oppressed is crossed. Depending on the individual, that doesn't happen until late 40s (for those who went straight through) or 50s or later (for those who took a more circuitous route, such as spending a lot of time in government). Only senior partners, esp big rainmakers, make a lot more than they bring in. Many relationships are institutional, and only are inherited late in one's career. Biglaw is not a path to great riches. Don't get me wrong, it's plenty comfortable. But only a small handful get to one percent wealth (currently around $12m in net worth) through law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, one multi-millionaire and two kinda-sorta? Isn’t DC loaded with Biglaw people? I thought this thread would be filled with moneybag responses.

Lawers typically have low rate of saving compared to a certain type of wage slaves.