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What did your first year in big law look like?
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Find out more about what you’d be doing. Might be boring, and might not offer the work-life balance you are seeking if you are constantly pressured to get piles of diligence done on an accelerated deal timeline. On the other hand, it could be an interesting transaction-support position where you can learn a lot and think about what else you might want to do. I do know a very few staff attorneys who have made a career of the position, which can be very well paid if you stick with it long enough to be very valuable.
Coach
Honestly...you would make more as a transactional paralegal than a trans staff atty. It's likely diligence or fund work. I know Ropes used to pay 110-115 in Boston for staff attys to do funds work.
The 2nd class citizen thing is real. Some firms "promote out" to partner track, but many firms never will, so it's wholly dead end job. And you're layoff fodder too.
My brother was a staff atty at a firm and did get promoted out. He's now a partner there. Took him much longer than his law school classmates but worked out in the end. He is a _machine_ in a very rough practice area. For many years, he was a top biller at that very large firm and the staff atty taint still didn't wear off.
I do now! I'm in litigation so can't speak to the transactional work itself, but the lifestyle side is very much the same. I know for a fact that my firm pays below market... I'm in a lcol area and there are firms here that start at $80-100k depending on experience. Mine starts at 75-80 then bumped up based on performance after the first year. Not sure about our hcol offices but it is higher. 1650 billables, totally doable as a M-F 9-5, but no real path back to associate level. I've been doing associate level work. Feel free to dm if you want more specifics.
Thank you for your input! I would love to chat about your current position. Will DM you for more specifics.
I should mention it’s a transactional staff attorney position. Also considering in house positions.