Got a biglaw offer, but the pay seems low

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get this thread deleted ASAP. Don't take that offer, it is really low. I don't see you getting the $210K you are hoping for in the current market, but you don't have to take less than you would make in Government. Seriously, at my agency we have people 3-4 years out of school who make about 90 K and we work about 40 hours a week, and up to 2 days a week from home!

What's a good/best gov. agency/dept. for a young JD? (My daughter is a 1L.)

Starbucks barista, if she's lucky.

+1. Where is your daughter a 1L, pp? If she doesn't go to a top 10 school OR do extremely well at a lower-ranked school AND doesn't have a bit of luck in her favor, getting a job as a fedgov lawyer is a pipe dream. Each opening gets -literally- thousands of applications.

"pipe dream" is a bit strong but certainly doing "extremely well" is the ticket. I'm biased on the subject, but look into the DOJ honors program and try to intern at DOJ as well. and if she's not at a top 10 school, don't give up hope on such things. my office (at doj) is frankly LOOKING to diversify the schools it hires from. our problem tends to be that the top-10 percent students at big state schools and the like go make private practice money somewhere and the middle-ranked students don't have the chops. so we keep hiring the ivy league grads with fancy appellate clerkships. but we would jump at a top-ranked law student from a big state school or regional law school who clerked for a district court judge and had good recommendations. we love district court clerks with good law school grades and recommendations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get this thread deleted ASAP. Don't take that offer, it is really low. I don't see you getting the $210K you are hoping for in the current market, but you don't have to take less than you would make in Government. Seriously, at my agency we have people 3-4 years out of school who make about 90 K and we work about 40 hours a week, and up to 2 days a week from home!

What's a good/best gov. agency/dept. for a young JD? (My daughter is a 1L.)

This depends on what she's studying, what internships she lands in between, and where she wants to end up. I think DoJ Honors Program is probably the gold standard for a generalist, with criminal more prestigious than civil. But CFPB is supposed to be a great place to work, and SEC pays top dollar.

The best job is one that your daughter wants to do and finds for herself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm at a true big law firm in DC (an no, I'm not dumb enough to name them). We bring mid-level associates in at $150K or so. $210K? Keep dreaming.

NP. Nonsense. How would you bring mid-levels in at significantly less than 1st years make, assuming you are actually Biglaw. Virtually all Biglaw is lockstep and there might be a bit of negotiation about whether you take a year or so haircut, especially if it is a bit of a practice change, but you will essentially get paid what your class year gets paid.

[Anonymous]

OP, where do you currently work? (I am thinking generally, but since you like specifics, that works too.). I am curiosity as to whether that may cloud your impression of Biglaw, also your current salary may influence what they are offering you, at least in the first instance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get this thread deleted ASAP. Don't take that offer, it is really low. I don't see you getting the $210K you are hoping for in the current market, but you don't have to take less than you would make in Government. Seriously, at my agency we have people 3-4 years out of school who make about 90 K and we work about 40 hours a week, and up to 2 days a week from home!

What's a good/best gov. agency/dept. for a young JD? (My daughter is a 1L.)

Starbucks barista, if she's lucky.

+1. Where is your daughter a 1L, pp? If she doesn't go to a top 10 school OR do extremely well at a lower-ranked school AND doesn't have a bit of luck in her favor, getting a job as a fedgov lawyer is a pipe dream. Each opening gets -literally- thousands of applications.

"pipe dream" is a bit strong but certainly doing "extremely well" is the ticket. I'm biased on the subject, but look into the DOJ honors program and try to intern at DOJ as well. and if she's not at a top 10 school, don't give up hope on such things. my office (at doj) is frankly LOOKING to diversify the schools it hires from. our problem tends to be that the top-10 percent students at big state schools and the like go make private practice money somewhere and the middle-ranked students don't have the chops. so we keep hiring the ivy league grads with fancy appellate clerkships. but we would jump at a top-ranked law student from a big state school or regional law school who clerked for a district court judge and had good recommendations. we love district court clerks with good law school grades and recommendations.

This is good advice. The other thing I'll say is that a clerkship is a good way to bridge the gap between a mediocre law school and a better one, and those spots are completely at the discretion of the judge him/herself. So, there are bound to be some judges who "save" a spot for Catholic grads every year because they feel strongly about supporting their alma mater, or conservative young lawyers in general.

[Anonymous]

THe OP is a troll.
but at least people started to have some fun. THere are some good posts!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have the words white shoe and Big law lost all meaning? Also, your biggest concern isn't that some partner is reading this site on a Friday morning. Your concern is that some legal secretary or paralegal or someone else who doesn't make $90,000 a year is reading this and pissed that you are so ungracious about the offer. That's the person that's going to forward this to the partners

LOL yes ungracious...shhhh we can't let this info get out! It will ruin us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This must be a troll but I'm trolled.

Wilson Elser, Jackson Lewis, and Littler Mendelson are not big law. They are big firms but pay compressed scales, are highly leveraged, and do a lot of fixed fee flat work.

these firms aren't biglaw (although, interestingly littler entered the vault 100 this year for the first time), but the latter two shouldn't be lumped in with wilson elser. I used to work at one of them, and in big markets they start first years in the 110-120k range; I was a senior associate (about to make partner) in DC and made 200k. nowhere near biglaw pay, but wilson elser starts at like 70k, and the raises are probably horrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:90k - ha! I make more than that in the federal government. Ha!

k

That seems low. I made 92 as a paralegal.

I'm a government paralegal and I make 110k (gs 13/7)...

[Anonymous]

As of this year true big law in DC is $175k-180K for first years.

[Anonymous]

I'm a government paralegal and I make 110k (gs 13/7)...

Are you a supervisory paralegal? I have worked at 2 Fed agencies and at both only supervisory paralegals were 13s.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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 have no idea what rank that person was or whether that person was on law review.

[Anonymous]

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 have no idea what rank that person was or whether that person was on law review.

I didn't ask, I'm telling you- and informing the DCUM law school prospectives that going to Catholic law and landing in big law is a crapshoot.

[Anonymous]

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.

either that, or the catholic grad started practicing in 1982. different world now.