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amother
Linen
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 Thu, Dec 20 2018, 9:44 pm
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I am just curious to hear from those whos husbands salaries have grown over the years. What trend did the raise follow? My husband was initially working at a non profit out of school so was making less than 50 a year. He joined a small firm 2 years ago and has gone from 65 to 75 at appx a 5 grand raise each year. Is the the trajectory we could expect to follow? Would switching jobs bring him a greater jump in salary? I am just looking for people's experience. Yes I am grateful he has a job... yes I know the raise was higher than industry standard of 2% but quite frankly we have insane loans and at some point I would really like to see him hit above 100k. At this rate that may not be for 5 years.
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nchr
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Thu, Dec 20 2018, 9:47 pm
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He can look into doing work on the side if he has time, which can supplement his income meanwhile. Good luck.
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amother
Beige
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Thu, Dec 20 2018, 10:16 pm
OP why was this post limited to husband's who are attorneys?
If he's in public practice - he has to demonstrate that he is growing and can do more complex work - which means the firm can bill him out at a higher rate.
Moving to a new firm makes sense if he feels he's outgrown where he is now - ie no room or desire for him to move up.
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amother
Linen
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Thu, Dec 20 2018, 10:20 pm
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Sorry, this is not limited to just attorneys. Open to hear from the professional world.
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amother
Magenta
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Thu, Dec 20 2018, 10:44 pm
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Big law starts at about 180k a year. It’s very competitive and demanding obviously. Easiest to get straight out of a top school but not impossible to break into.
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amother
Jetblack
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Thu, Dec 20 2018, 11:00 pm
Well, my DH isn't an attorney, but I am.
A lot of it depends on the type of practice he's in, years of experience, whether he maintains client relationships on his own, cultivates new client relationships, what area you live in, and, frankly, his skills and work effort. It can also depend on whether it's a firm that expects a LOT of billables, or has a more balanced work/life culture.
These all factor in. My first full time law job I was making $98k per year, with an expectation of around 1750 billable hours per year. Also, any collections for my services over $30k per month, I got 1/3. This was in a boutique law firm in a metropolitan area outside of NYC.
After a number of years, I then formed my own solo practice, and do work for a couple of boutique firms in my specialty. I now make around $240k per year (take home). I'm happy with it as I have a lot of responsibility and flexibility at the same time.
I have a very specific specialty which I won't share here, but I bill out at $450 per hour, and typically keep around half of that. I also get a percentage of the business that I generate for the firms.
There are a lot of attorneys who make a lot of money, and a lot who don't. You need to figure out what type of practice gives you the right balance of what you want - personal time, professional challenge, interest, stress, and money.
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amother
Magenta
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Fri, Dec 21 2018, 12:00 am
| amother wrote: | Well, my DH isn't an attorney, but I am.
A lot of it depends on the type of practice he's in, years of experience, whether he maintains client relationships on his own, cultivates new client relationships, what area you live in, and, frankly, his skills and work effort. It can also depend on whether it's a firm that expects a LOT of billables, or has a more balanced work/life culture.
These all factor in. My first full time law job I was making $98k per year, with an expectation of around 1750 billable hours per year. Also, any collections for my services over $30k per month, I got 1/3. This was in a boutique law firm in a metropolitan area outside of NYC.
After a number of years, I then formed my own solo practice, and do work for a couple of boutique firms in my specialty. I now make around $240k per year (take home). I'm happy with it as I have a lot of responsibility and flexibility at the same time.
I have a very specific specialty which I won't share here, but I bill out at $450 per hour, and typically keep around half of that. I also get a percentage of the business that I generate for the firms.
There are a lot of attorneys who make a lot of money, and a lot who don't. You need to figure out what type of practice gives you the right balance of what you want - personal time, professional challenge, interest, stress, and money. |
Hats off to you:) you must be really talented and hard working.
-wife of a starting lawyer
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amother
Wine
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Fri, Dec 21 2018, 6:29 am
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I've never worked for a small firm, but I would not expect a higher raise unless he did something to justify it (bring in a huge client, etc). What area does he practice in? My best advice would be to start looking around and try to negotiate or get a job with a better salary. Big law pays the most, but it's hard to get and lifestyle is insane. Government or in house has a lower salary (still higher than the numbers you are talking about) and a better lifestyle. Or if he is really good bringing in business, you can try to be a solo practioner, but it's hard. I went from big law to government. The salary isn't as good, but lifestyle is much better
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amother
Turquoise
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Mon, Apr 15 2019, 7:32 pm
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amother
Royalblue
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Mon, Apr 15 2019, 7:38 pm
| amother [ Jetblack ] wrote: | Well, my DH isn't an attorney, but I am.
A lot of it depends on the type of practice he's in, years of experience, whether he maintains client relationships on his own, cultivates new client relationships, what area you live in, and, frankly, his skills and work effort. It can also depend on whether it's a firm that expects a LOT of billables, or has a more balanced work/life culture.
These all factor in. My first full time law job I was making $98k per year, with an expectation of around 1750 billable hours per year. Also, any collections for my services over $30k per month, I got 1/3. This was in a boutique law firm in a metropolitan area outside of NYC.
After a number of years, I then formed my own solo practice, and do work for a couple of boutique firms in my specialty. I now make around $240k per year (take home). I'm happy with it as I have a lot of responsibility and flexibility at the same time.
I have a very specific specialty which I won't share here, but I bill out at $450 per hour, and typically keep around half of that. I also get a percentage of the business that I generate for the firms.
There are a lot of attorneys who make a lot of money, and a lot who don't. You need to figure out what type of practice gives you the right balance of what you want - personal time, professional challenge, interest, stress, and money. |
This.
My husband is a lawyer and says that many lawyers can't get past 40-60k a year if they aren't extremely talented, hardworking, personable and a little bit lucky.
He doesn't recommend frum men go to law school for this reason, unless they get into a top 14 school.
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amother
Red
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Mon, Apr 15 2019, 8:34 pm
| amother [ Jetblack ] wrote: | Well, my DH isn't an attorney, but I am.
A lot of it depends on the type of practice he's in, years of experience, whether he maintains client relationships on his own, cultivates new client relationships, what area you live in, and, frankly, his skills and work effort. It can also depend on whether it's a firm that expects a LOT of billables, or has a more balanced work/life culture.
These all factor in. My first full time law job I was making $98k per year, with an expectation of around 1750 billable hours per year. Also, any collections for my services over $30k per month, I got 1/3. This was in a boutique law firm in a metropolitan area outside of NYC.
After a number of years, I then formed my own solo practice, and do work for a couple of boutique firms in my specialty. I now make around $240k per year (take home). I'm happy with it as I have a lot of responsibility and flexibility at the same time.
I have a very specific specialty which I won't share here, but I bill out at $450 per hour, and typically keep around half of that. I also get a percentage of the business that I generate for the firms.
There are a lot of attorneys who make a lot of money, and a lot who don't. You need to figure out what type of practice gives you the right balance of what you want - personal time, professional challenge, interest, stress, and money. |
Am I right that this comes out to around 20 billable hours per week? That's not bad!
Ime, succeeding as a lawyer requires business talent far more than legal skills or ability to produce quality work.
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amother
Ginger
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Mon, Apr 15 2019, 9:47 pm
Attorney here. It's difficult to say what your husband's trajectory will be at his present firm without knowing more about it.
I've found intelligent discussion of legal employment in both of the following forums, which you or your husband could try searching:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jfo......page (this forum is not primarily career advice, but has a lot of interesting threads on legal career topics)
http://www.top-law-schools.com.....?f=23
Like everything on the internet, there's also garbage mixed in with the good stuff, so take with a grain of salt.
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amother
Orchid
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Mon, Apr 15 2019, 10:17 pm
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OP- I was on your husband’s trajectory until I switched firms to a medium size firm. Now it’s much better but still flexible hours and solid raises & room to grow. That’s what I would advise- look for medium firm w practice area in what he does.
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amother
Turquoise
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Tue, Apr 16 2019, 11:23 am
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DONT do big law just don’t. Unless you are looking to pay off your student loans and it’s a definite short term solution for your career. It’s very tough to get out of biglaw once you’re in it...
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