Reply to Big Law spouses - give me your tips and tricks

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]Guys, if OP’s husband is billing 1800-2K hours as a *new* partner, his job is very secure. He’s making the firm a s**t ton of money.[/quote]

Billable hours do not always equate to a "s**t ton of money."

First, the attorney's rate per hour (i.e., the hourly rate the attorney can bill and collect) matters a great deal. To wit, if Attorney A can bill 1500 hours at an hourly rate of $1250 per hour and Attorney B can bill 2000 hours at a rate of $750, Attorney A is making the firm more money than Attorney B even though B is billing 500 more hours than A.

Second, contingent fee work (e.g., the attorney's fee equals 33% of a settlement) can create vast amounts of revenue even when the actual hours spent on the case are small.

My firm has several non-equity partners who work in specialized areas of the law and can earn more than senior partners via a combination of the first two factors I listed above. For example, we have a partner who is a sales tax expert. When he wins a big case, his contingent fee take will outstrip many senior partners' earnings in other fields.[/quote]

$750 an hour x 2000 hours is 1.5M dollars. Of course there are going to be people who pull in more, but I struggle to imagine the circumstances under which a firm puts someone bringing in that much on the chopping block. Maybe a repeat of '09? OP needs to worry about her husband burning out, about her marriage, and about her own mental health far more than her husband's job security. He's doing great.[/quote]

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