I don’t work in big law, but some of my classmates,who are going into big law, are bragging about the low number of billable hours they are required to hit. I’m hearing 1,600-1,800 billable hours. Is this actually true? Are some firms paying Cravath and only requiring 1,600 for the year? I know it depends on the firm, but can anyone actually confirm this is their experience? If so, then I’m a little jealous 🙃
If you actually want to ascend the ladder, hard pass. It’s just a waste of your time and energy. I’m in big law and staff attorneys are staff attorneys for a reason - they have no interest in promotion, and they get paid slightly less to make up for that. They’re also relegated to crummy assignments sometimes.
Thank you, thats what I figured.
Rising Star
I would be careful with staff attorney bc from my understanding they get paid a bit less. Non-partner track I think is fine because you can always move to another firm if a partner track position doesn’t open as soon as you’d want. Your next job will not be your last job
Thank you!
In my experience there’s a huge difference between staff attorneys and “career associates” aka non partner track associates. I would be very weary of staff attorney roles if you want to be on partner track. It’s just a reality that associates and partners often look down on staff attorneys. Career associates are the exact same as typical associates but they get paid less of course. However no one even knows that they’re not partner track so that wouldn’t hurt your partnership chances if you lateral.
Thank you, I didn't even know there were career associates.
I moved from BigLaw partner track associate to hourly non-partner track attorney at another BigLaw firm and it was the best decision I ever made for my mental health. When billing 40 hours a week I make the same amount I was making as a partner track associate billing 65-70 hours a week. I can turn down or pick up more hours based on what I have going on. The scary part is that I’m only making money if I’m billing, but I’ve yet to run into any issues.
Thank you!