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Additional Posts in Small Law / Solos
Do solos get to write off pro bono work at all?
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I’m a second year at the same. Husband makes ~$60. We collectively have approx. $330k of student loans between us 🤷🏻♀️ I think it’s just fine. I wouldn’t trade my low billable requirement for all of the cravath scale money in the world.
That's a normal experience. Law isn't a great moneymaking career at the end of the day. So long as you don't hate yourself after work, you're doing well. If you can keep doing what you're doing and invest wisely, that's called playing the long game and you'll be alright.
Bowl Leader
Obviously this also may depend on your location. But I live in a HCOL area, and started as a first year with a salary of around $90k. Hearing about all of my friends making $180k as first years was very demoralizing. I paid off my loans in about five years.
Mentor
I just roll my eyes when I see BigLaw complain about the taxes on their earnings or the fact that it’s hard to get by on a household income of $800,000 per year.
Live within your means. Even if you start making significantly more money, don’t immediately go out and buy a bigger house and brand new car because that will lock you in and make it hard to pivot away from the hamster wheel of big salaries (which come with lots of headaches).
Whether your salary is accurate or not for your type of work and physical area where you practice is another question.
But, if you are a solo then it does take time to build up your consistent pipeline of business. Most attorneys I talk to who started as solos say they didn’t make a profit the first year and some didn’t make a profit the second year, but as was said above, it’s about the long game.
If you’re a solo that’s not bad at all especially in litigation. We didn’t start making a profit until year 2-3. Keep costs low (when possible) and do quality work- the money will come eventually.
Do you own your own law firm or are you an associate working for someone?
Associate at a 5 person firm.
Are there associates out there who make $300k+? Yes. But most of us are NOT making that. And those high salaries come at a cost. Just remember that comparison is the thief of joy. If you’re living comfortably, and you’re happy with your work, then there’s little reason to stress about what someone else is getting paid.