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My boss has been on the journey of growing his practice from sole practitioner to a law firm. He has now hired a few lawyers (including me) and realizes he needs to review and establish a more thoughtful compensation structure, including what his expectations from us will be as the other side of that coin. Because he's a wonderful guy, he has invited us to give him feedback regarding what we think is fair on both fronts. This is slightly more complicated because most of the firms I've reviewed provide annual "billable" hour requirements, and my boss (understandably) is only concerned about a minimum "collectible" hour requirement.
I'm a fan of data-based opinions, so I am turning to Reddit to try and find out what is customary in this day and age. Ideally, I'd particularly like to hear from people in firms like ours; a small firm in a HCOL area that focuses on estate planning and estate administration, including taxable/complex estates, but we do not do litigation. (In addition to our boss, we have a few of attorneys ranging from freshly barred to almost 8yrs experience. Many have a tax LL.M.) If you are willing, please share with me the following:
-What type of law do you practice?
-Is your firm big, medium, or small? HCOL or LCOL area?
-What does your firm expect from you regarding minimum billable or collectible hours? If your firm has a billable minimum, how much of that are you expected to collect?
-How much your firm pay your attorneys, including salary, how bonuses are structured, and/or other financial compensation? What is the experience level for this level of pay?
-What other non-wage compensation does your firm provide? (CLEs, 401(k), dental, PTO, paid holidays, etc.)
-Anything else we should consider?
Thank you!