Best way to request change in pay structure?
PI lawyer going on 4yrs w/firm. I make a salary, no performance incentive.
Earned ≈ $2M in fees for the firm, salary <$90k.
I’m no rainmaker or prodigy. I just work my ass off, signed and worked good cases.
I’m a workaholic-no spouse or kids so I don’t mind the hrs, but I feel defeated when I closed 6 cases for fees that were 4+ years’ salary each & I don’t even get a taste of it.
So-how does an associate ask for a % of fees in the appropriate way?

like
Posting as :
works at
You are currently posting as works at

Dude 2 mill in fees and you can't start you own shop? I would totally hire you for 2 mill in fees.

like

If I got paid more so I could save my living expenses/student loan payments I probably would’ve already.

likefunny

Many of my friends are on the plaintiffs side. They tell me 2 mill in fees should equate to a salary/bonus or at least 2-250k a year.

like

This happens tho. Not surprised that plaintiffs lawyers are always splintering off firms and doing their own thing. Why would they not when they don’t get a taste. Sounds like someone like you may be better off rolling the dice on a lower base and negotiating a nice percent cut of originated cases and cases you work up. I did have these discussions with a couple firms, but I would have taken like 100k cut on the salary - maybe without kids I would have rolled the dice. I guess if I could redo it, I would have tried my luck at an eat what you kill plaintiff firm

like

Are those 2m in fees origination (cases you personal brought in) or just from your workload? Most PI, at least on the plaintiff's side, get a percentage of what they bring in. Also, its a rarity, but some also/alternatively, get a % from their caseload. Getting 5% of your caseload or 33-40% of cases you sign up is standard, at least in NY. I get 40% of cases that I bring in but no caseload %

likesmart

Your firm has the best deal in town if that’s your cut of generating $2mil in fees. Renegotiate tonight.

Can you start your own shop? Sounds like the folks you work for should be giving you a taste.

like

I’d like to think I’m capable, but I need to get my living expenses saved. Unfortunately, I don’t get paid enough to do so quickly😂

smart

Associate you can do this!!! You got this!!!! If they don’t give you a pay raise start your own shop!

like

If you are kicking ass the way that you describe then you are a huge asset that the firm will not want to lose. If they do not give you a raise then start poking around to other places that provide incentives for production. Bet on yourself but don’t leap before you have a plan.

like

Ask for incentive compensation. Totally normal firm convo to have. Get something like 15-25% of gross revenue based on what you bill over your requirements. I worked for a small firm and asked for this a year in and we were able to work it out / amend the employment contract for it. Sounds very deserved.

like

You are getting fleeced

like

Where do you practice? That was my life for a while and I indeed did start my own practice because of that exact reason. Accordingly, I absolutely plan to give associates a percentage for origination and for successful dispositions. Like you mentioned, any incentive is more than what most Plaintiff’s Firms pay their associates.

like

Run me my check

like

Based on your math if you brought in 2 million and your cut is generously 40% you brought in 800k. 250 is very reasonable but make sure it’s based on your work alone. Like if you need a team (jr associate/legal intern/paralegals/ secretary) to help you get that subtract accordingly.

like

You deserve more money. Ask for a bonus in recognition of your hard work.

Where are you located? 90k for a fourth year without any additional participation in fees is pretty low, at least in big markets. Most firms give you a small percentage of all your cases, assuming you handle the cases completely on your own. If there’s a partner or other more senior lawyer handling trials or at least putting his name in the caption looking like he’ll be the one trying the case if there’s no settlement, then it’s a bit different and maybe you’d either get just a fixed salary (higher than 90) or a very small percentage. But for sure you should be getting a cut of the cases you originated. I’ve never heard of anyone not getting a cut of originating cases. Ask during your performance review or if you don’t have one, ask for a meeting. You probably don’t get it cause you never asked. Good luck!

Sorry OP, but to give you perspective and hopefully you use this to go out and better yourself, I have a higher salary as a first year and I get 15% origination on all cases I bring in.

Related Posts

Does someone know what total comp range would be for a technical sales AE role for big pharma in Canada?

like

I have an offer in PE VP role in Citco and JPM and I am at cross road on which is one to company to choose. Their pay is very similar but JPM is offering an attractive signing on bonus. I need a honest advise on which is better between these two firms.

like

Anyone at Epic know how much the starting salary is for the entry level project manager position?

like
like

I recently joined in Wipro in B3 band. I see the 2L is the default Group family insurance they offered which is very low & Pathetic. Suggestions please to increase via. Topup and corresponding charges as well. I want to include my parents as well. I know its extra cost. Wipro Infosys Tata Consultancy HCL Technologies Cognizant

likefunny

Any other senior associates get their raise from JL yet?

like

Hi everyone, soon to have an interview for a designer role...
Does anyone have an idea what's the typical salary for an experienced graphic designer/business presentation designer in Switzerland?

like

Any rough range for Sr Director salary band at A&M transactions advisory?

Applying for a Platform Role at a VC Fund - NYC based.

The recruiter asked me for a target number for comp… What is a reasonable range to give them? 5 YOE, previous experience across everything they’re looking for, would also be bringing deal flow in

I would love to hear success stories about attorneys who have quit firm life, taken a non-profit or government job (including a 20-30k pay cut) and didn’t regret it. I am so over firm culture. My fiancé and I would still have a comfortable combined income but I am worried I would miss the extra cash. I think I know deep down this is what I need to do but I’d still love to hear success stories!

like

I have offer from below companies for big data engineer role with AWS:
HCL
WIPRO
IBM
EPAM
OPTUM
IMPETUS (will be getting offer soon)

SALARY is more in Hcl and least in optum.
For other companies its in between.
Should I go for optum even though salary ks least as it is product based or should i be choosing service based company as per salary.
I am only 5 yr experience and Willing to focus on learning along with good WLB.

1 MONTH notice is still left.
Which company i should go into? Plz sugges

like

What is the salary/sign on bonus for senior enterprise risk for EY? What is the competitive salary currently?

like

What are some typical bonus amounts? It’s first year as an Analyst in Global Markets and I’m really curious. Thanks for sharing!

likesmart

What is KPMG salary for a manager in TMT strategy? Also is TMT mostly on the telco side?

like

What is the maximum salary Wipro can offer to 4 YOE. Designation - Consultant Wipro

like

Ogletree question: how is junior shareholder comp structured?

like

Looking for averages of consultant salary at Chartis. Please comment with salary and exp please!

like

Hello Fishes, did you receive market correction of salary in October 2022 ? If so, what is the % correction ?

like

@Shell Banglore offering me 21.6L CTC which includes 3L variable pay for Business Analyst Role. Please help me if this is a good offer to accept from the company CCTC -15L Current location - Hyderabad Tech - SAP SD 7yrs exp

like

More Posts

thoughts on TRX please

like

Do midsize firm have tax technology team?

like

The nasolabial folds on my face are getting more pronounced, ughhh. Whenever I am expressionless it looks like I am scowling. Any tips to manage them? Help!!!

like

What’s the difference between a manager and a senior manager? I’m a manager currently and want to know what I need to do to be a senior manager. Meaning how do I stand out for promotion. I feel like senior managers are more tax technical and manage more people. I also think they handle the business aspect, like profitability and client relationships.

like

Outside of the brand name and anything overly flashy like diamonds, how would you be able to tell the difference between a $500 and $5,000 watch?

like

not sure if I want people to know a lot about me outside of work. I'll share info but not proactively or as openly as everyone else does. Not antisocial, just guarded. This is going to limit me huh?

like

What workouts can I do with an injured knee?

like

Hi Fishes,

Can anyone give referral to
Wells Fargo for Business execution associate profile. I have the job id with me.

like

Barclays global service center When is appraisal cycle Barclays global service center Barclays

like

My wife is on her H4 (already stamped) and is scheduled to fly to the US on one of those Vande Bharat flights this weekend.

Anyone knows of any implications the new executive order might have?

likehelpful

Did anyones firm send out an firmwide acknowledgment of MLK day today? Or encourage attorneys to participate in service?

like

Any other senior associates get their raise from JL yet?

like

Anyone want to do apt swap for a weekend or longer - NYC here for LA, Chicago , London

like
like

Anyone feel like they just aren’t a good attorney/cut out for being a lawyer? Started out doing corporate work, hated it. Switched over to litigation because I had originally went to law school thinking I wanted to be a litigator of some kind. About one year in, I work my tail off and have the reputation for doing so. Almost like clockwork my written work gets torn apart, and I make what i feel are stupid mistakes. I try to cut myself some slack because I’m junior but the doubt creeps in.

like

Hello mommas! My hubby and I are finally ready to start trying to have a baby. I’m obviously a newbie and not sure if we should have tons of sex during my fertile days, I am using Daysy to track my cycle. I just want to read y’all’s stories. What did you do to get preggo? Any tips? 🥰

like

Give suggestions on companies to apply in Bangalore.
Want a transition from Data Engineer to ml engineer/data scientist.
Yoe - 1
Engineering- tier 1 nit
Skills:
AWS Associate solution architect.
Azure agile working environment.
Python, sql,Hadoop, spark big data, ci/cd pipeline, aws cloud computing
Regression, pca, knn, ensembles , decision tree etc
Currently working in pharma industry.
Please provide refrell if you have any.

like

At what point in time do you generally feel the most settled/ not the newby/ feel like you know what you’re actually doing in a role? 6 months? A year?

What is on job security for senior engineer in HTC global services if you are new joiner and on bench since 2 months ?

Miami Ad School or Humber for Copywriting?

Miami Ad School is 2 years and 40K vs Humber’s 1 year and 8K... I don’t get why the difference is so big. Any thoughts on which is the better program for copywriting?

like

Additional Posts in Law

Does any one have any feedback on what the experience is like as a Subject Matter Expert at Thomson Reuters?

like

Anyone have a SuperNote A5 X? Is it a gamer changer or just another gadget? Sync easily? I’ve been going back and forth for the past 4 months on whether to buy.

like

This may be just a naive/dumb question, but how do you relax when you’ve got a really stressful file? I’m a junior and I’ve been putting in ~10ish billable hours a day recently, which is more than I’m used to. The evenings (post-8pm) are generally my time to decompress - read a book, watch dumb tv, whatever - but it’s been all work lately until 10 or 11pm and I struggle to go straight from work to bed. Any insight on what everyone else does?

like

Partners — when you write off associate time, does your firm charge that against your revenue numbers, the associate’s, or both for bonus purposes? If it is the associate’s, please explain your view on if you believe that’s fair and why.

like

I hate working every Sunday. I don’t work a full 8-6 or whatever but I’m always putting in a solid 5-6 hours in addition to the 1-2 hours or so on a Saturday. Is there something better than this? I don’t know how normal this is. I see people going out and going to brunch and the beach and shit like that and I’m starting to think maybe I should find a firm where this isn’t expected or quite so normalized. It’s not going above and beyond, here it’s just “part of the job” ffs get me out of here

like

Anyone in marketing law? Just started a new job looking for any recommendations (books, blogs) to brush up on.

likehelpful

I am an associate and started at my firm about 5 months ago. What do you suggest for holiday gifts and who do you buy for?

likehelpful

All Associates: if you had a captive audience of all E and NE partners looking for feedback on the daily issues you face and what makes you happy at a job, what would you want them to know?

like

Anyone know market pay for Tampa (excluding the Holland Knight/Foley outliers)? I'm a 4th year looking for a range.

like