<p>saw this posted in february.</p>
<p>
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Young Lawyers Get Raise, Still Make Jack ****</p>
<p>In news that made Wall Street bankers and traders yawn, it has been revealed that legal giant Cravath, Sqaine & Moore has given its associates a--now brace yourself--$20,000 raise! Said one first-year associate reached at his desk at 3 a.m., "Great, now I can afford that 1/8 share in the Hamptons next summer that I'll never be able to go to anyway because I'll be stuck here doing some partner's work for him."
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<p>LOL, DC. Very true. </p>
<p>Now, for those of you who are seduced by those $145,000 salaries, consider that you're very unlikely to get them when you take the LSAT. Only about 1/3 of people who take the LSAT get into law school; only about 10% of those people will get the big firm jobs. Even if you get into a T14, you aren't guaranteed a Cravath job; now it's time to be among the 10% of your class that gets on Law Review. Just consider that.</p>
<p>Attrition is true in almost every highly-desired profession. Just look at consulting jobs. You don't even need a degree for that and most people, even from top schools like Harvard and Princeton don't land that highly coveted, multi-faceted job.</p>
<p>And remember you also have 180k in debt coming out of law school. Considering that all these top law jobs are in a city with one of the highest cost of living in the world and a top marginal income tax of around 30%, you'll still be in golden shackles for about 3-4 years.</p>
<p>You'll be in golden shackles for 3-4 years if you live like a student (which shouldn't be hard, given all the hours). That's a long time to work really hard and have not much to show for it.</p>
<p>So much pessimism here...sounds to me as if you really don't want to become lawyers.</p>
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sounds to me as if you really don't want to become lawyers.
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<p>sounds to me as if YOU don't want to hear about some harsh realities about being a lawyer. one can aspire to be a lawyer without thinking that working at one of those huge firms is the goal one wishes to aspire to because one realizes the dollar signs attached to such jobs really may not be worth.</p>
<p>^ too many "ones" in there for my taste.
Don't get me wrong, I understand that those Cravath, Sqaine & Moore jobs are a lot of work and little money in terms of compensation.</p>
<p>If those high pay/high demand jobs aren't what "one aspires to," then tell me what are the dream jobs lawyers have in mind. I realize this is subjective.</p>
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then tell me what are the dream jobs lawyers have in mind
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<p>the range of possibilities will be as broad as the range of people considering law school. it depends on why one is considering being a lawyer in the first place. personally, i don't think earning a large salary is a good enough reason to become a lawyer in the first place.</p>
<p>as a former lawyer, one of the biggest pitfalls i saw among my friends and colleagues with respect to career goals -- many entered law school with goals that did not include big firm practice -- often involving great and wonderful goals of doing something truly important with their lives -- and most of those ended up working at big firms at least straight out of law school. it is easy to underestimate the pressure to work at a big firm IF one attends one of the top law schools -- and in fact sometimes work at such a firm is seen as an important step on a career path that leads elsewhere. and once at those large firms, it can be very difficult to break away of your own volition, despite earlier goals to only work there a year or two for the money. you find your value being judged by the number of hours you bill and bonus you earn. other career paths -- gov't, in-house practice, small firm practice -- are looked down upon as the place for those who can't "make it" at the big firms. it takes a great deal of fortitude to step back and get back on the career track that led you to law school in the first place.</p>
<p>a healthy dose opf pessism about what the true nature of work at a large firm is like is, i think, a good thing. imo, it can only help prospective lawyers really evaluate what it is they want from the practice of law and how hard it may be to achieve it.</p>
<p>My dream job? I'll give you the list of the top ones:
-Attorney in a patent boutique firm
-in-house counsel for an engineering firm
-judge
-conservative politics</p>
<p>Since those are the jobs that I really wanted to do, I went to law school.</p>
<p>Are you currently in law school, ariesathena?</p>
<p>unbelievablem: I couldn't agree more. Law school changes a person unless he/she stay fast to their deep personal values. </p>
<p>I know Ivy Leaguer-associates who are miserable, just miserable. Worth it, I ask? Most answer something like this: "Well, I'm not planning on doing this forever." </p>
<p>Not much personal satisfaction in one's job if you ask me.</p>
<p>ariesathena: I was with you there for a while until the conservative politics thing. :)</p>
<p>Rich: fill in with "Politics of your choice." I would love to get into high-level policy in DC. </p>
<p>Yale: I sent you a PM (or will send you one in a sec).</p>
<p>ariesathena: I'm sure you'll do very well, despite your politics. :)</p>
<p>By the way, how's the chemistry between aries and aquarius.</p>