<p>What would be the starting salary of someone with the following stats:</p>
<p>Stern Undergrad + T14 Law School + Fluent in Chinese & Korean + strong journalism experience. </p>
<p>I'm currently at NYU(GPA: 3.84) and have been published in the Post and TIME magazine. </p>
<p>I'm an Asian American and interested in doing works for big firms who do business in China/Korea/Japan. </p>
<p>Would Stern Undergrad. help a lot in doing corporate law? Or is it necessary to get an MBA? What would be the starting salary? </p>
<p>The avg. salary at S. Korea's biggest law firm (Kim & Jang) is 210,000$, which I thought is kind of low considering the work hours (9 am to 11 pm usually, or even later + sometimes working on Sat & Sun). </p>
<p>My understanding is that corp. lawyers get some sort of commission when big firms/companies do deals with others..and that the commission usually is larger than his salary -- is this true? </p>
<p>Shame on you. $210,000 is an incredible starting salary, how much more do you want? I'd be incredibly satisfied getting that. Keep chasing money like this and see where it takes you. This is a horrible outlook.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Most graduating lawyers from a T14 school who want to work in BIGLAW will get the standard market starting salary of $160K. Bonuses ranging from $10K to $30-40K are also available depending on how many hours are billed. However, keep in mind that the workload required of first-year lawyers is very heavy, often rivaling the insane hours of investment bankers (we're talking weeks that require 80-100 hours). </p></li>
<li><p>As for commissions, if this is true (and I have no idea if it is or isn't), there's almost certainly no chance that a junior associate will see a significant (or really any) cut of that action. Lawyers aren't the big deal-breakers or rain-makers their first few years on the job. That's the domain of senior associates and partners.</p></li>
<li><p>Finally, I agree with poster #2. How in the world can you think that $210K is a low starting salary? Especially if you're being paid that salary in South Korea? Unfortunately for you, your undergrad and soft factors will not affect your future initial income as a lawyer. I suppose one route you could pursue would be to work for a major American firm in China. That way, you would receive the standard market rate salary, which would go much farther in China. Moreover, it's my understanding that income tax laws apply differently overseas, so you'd be able to keep a larger share of that income at the end of the year.</p></li>
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<p>hey NDJAKE, sorry if I had offended you. I did not say that the starting salary at Kim & Jang was 200,000$, I said the "avg." The starting salary at Kim & Jang is just a bit over 100,000$ and it takes years and years to climb up the ladder to become a partner and get over 200,000$.</p>
<p>Frankly, I'm sort of unfamiliar with how American firms work, but in Korea, many work like dogs (for ex:) Taepyongang, the 2nd largest law firm, even has bedrooms inside the firm for those who finish work at 2am, sleep for 4 hours, and start working again at 6 am (I can't confirm if Kim & Jang has such feature).</p>
<p>So, by no means, do I think 200,000$ is small money...
but compared to the amount and rigor of work (at least in Korea), I thought corp. lawyers should be paid more...</p>
<p>wow, ok. you scared me a bit. sorry. 100k in that region of the world is a good sum of money. nyc firms pay more but the area is quite expensive. i believe the hours are just as bad too.</p>
<p>Graduating from Stern undergrad is not the same thing as an MBA. Finance-related law is certainly not a field restricted to former finance/business majors. The relevant experience and education will come from law school itself, not undergrad.</p>
<p>As far as I know, there are very few cases in which undergrad education has a significant impact on the field of law one practices. Patent and IP law comes to mind, which often looks for people with specialized degrees in engineering.</p>