I stay. The work is tremendously engaging. The money is nice too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Partners often are not making 2mm per year, if she is a newer partner, she is likely not an equity partner, and making between 500-1mm. Maybe she also likes making a ton of money and wants to retire with a luxurious lifestyle at 50.

Sigh. As I said, I was a partner in the same firm. I was equity, and so is she.
I have a very good idea of how much money she's making. No doubt it's $2 million plus.

Yeah, what kind of crazy person would want that salary?! She must be a real wackadoodle

Anonymous wrote:Partners often are not making 2mm per year, if she is a newer partner, she is likely not an equity partner, and making between 500-1mm. Maybe she also likes making a ton of money and wants to retire with a luxurious lifestyle at 50.

Sigh. As I said, I was a partner in the same firm. I was equity, and so is she.
I have a very good idea of how much money she's making. No doubt it's $2 million plus.

Partners often are not making 2mm per year, if she is a newer partner, she is likely not an equity partner, and making between 500-1mm. Maybe she also likes making a ton of money and wants to retire with a luxurious lifestyle at 50.

Anonymous wrote:Judging by your description of the situation, I have a feeling you would not believe her reasons are valid.

Not true. I'm honestly curious. The friend I was with is closer to her and is equally perplexed. She's just such a normal person by all outward indications. And as I said, I worked in the same firm (for many years) so I know first hard (and she would agree) that most of the partners aren't . . .

Anonymous wrote:As someone who works in BigLaw (staff side), I ask myself the same question all the time. We have partners who are well past retirement age and I can't imagine they are working because they need the money. I think some people really love being a law firm partner. Yes, the money is a big perk (no one volunteers to do it) but some attorneys are so passionate about what they do. Its admirable to have that much passion for your work. And if she doesn't have kids, might as well put her time into her work.

I know plenty of people in other fields who are very passionate about their work and don't make much money at all so it happens even in the lower-paying industries too.

Many older partners are hardly working and will stay and collect their distributions until they are forced out. They are different.

Judging by your description of the situation, I have a feeling you would not believe her reasons are valid.

Comes down to three possibilities: Love of the game; avoidance of regret/unhappiness at home; or unable to imagine a life untethered to being a law partner.

As someone who works in BigLaw (staff side), I ask myself the same question all the time. We have partners who are well past retirement age and I can't imagine they are working because they need the money. I think some people really love being a law firm partner. Yes, the money is a big perk (no one volunteers to do it) but some attorneys are so passionate about what they do. Its admirable to have that much passion for your work. And if she doesn't have kids, might as well put her time into her work.

I know plenty of people in other fields who are very passionate about their work and don't make much money at all so it happens even in the lower-paying industries too.

She finds satisfaction in her career, the people she works with, and would otherwise be bored. I'd guess she's also a very good attorney and has a developed skill set that is difficult to replicate. You're right in that she's not in this for the money, at least probably not at this point.

Anonymous wrote:Ask her?

Yea, we're gonna. She wasn't with us at the time and it just came up in conversation.

A lot of women don't want to have children. That's why fertility rates are plummeting all over the world, now that women have more economic freedom and mobility.

With all that free time, why not spend it billing? What else are you going to do?

Ask her?

She likes her team and the work she does. She enjoys training and mentoring associates. There are lots of reasons to like certain practices - some people enjoy working with their clients. If you have a good team and nice clients, it can be a wonderful job. It's just hard to line those things up and stick to it. The variety of work is another positive aspect.

A friend and I were talking the other day about a mutual friend who we both like very much. She's a Biglaw partner. All three of us worked at the same firm. I left years ago as a partner and retired early. The friend I was talking with left several years ago as well, not as a partner, but went on to do good things and now makes plenty of money in a semi-law related kind of field.

The friend who's still at the firm is married but childless and probably past the age of having any. I'd guess she's pulling in $2 million by now, easily, and isn't an obvious big spender. The spouses doesn't make much (works for a non-profit) but whatever.

Our friend, for want of a better word, is so "normal." Just a great, normal person. She does work very hard, that we know.

Our question to each other was "why is she still there?" Why would a normal person who doesn't have kids and isn't a huge spender but who obviously now has more money than God keep working in Biglaw?