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White collar folks - how busy are you guys now?
Mentor
Subject Expert
Anonymous User
Mentor
I hate this job. That is all.
Would you bus your colleague for being petty?
Mentor
The struggle is particularly real today
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Answer: (1) It depends on the firm, and (2) It depends on both the firm and the individual. Permanent non-equity partners may never be “significantly higher” than senior associates. And, while associates complain about compensation, you have no idea. Partner compensation can be a grudge match between you and the firm every compensation cycle (some firms are every year and some firms are every two years). Most people leave their compensation cycle at least a little pissed off. You hear how much the firm loves you and then - at least in my experience - you get to the compensation review process and it is like (actual) baseball arbitration where they try to suppress your expectations by saying what’s wrong with you (or slightly imperfect) or tell you while you are driving a lot of growth, you should be happy riding share value appreciation rather than getting more shares. It can get people riled up and it is, no matter what, emotionally exhausting. This is why there is some wisdom to the two year compensation cycle. It may not be in the economic interests of partners (honestly, not sure) - but it’s more humane and less toxic.
That sounds pretty much spot on. Partners are sometimes viewed by associates as this total other. The vast majority of us have just graduated to a different stage of the game and - while there are differences in perspective - partners are not all powerful and often feel helpless, abused & like their blood sweat and tears enrich others, but rarely themselves.
This is often just life, I think. We all have to muddle through and figure out the best way to maintain positivity and not over react to, or obsess about, the negative stimuli.
Subject Expert
We get a monthly draw at my firm and then quarterly pay outs based on projected bonus and equity. Hard to describe but I am a NEP and make 330k in draws and then another 350k in bonus and equity. I am way below median but above the bottom of the barrel. Median here is close to 800k total comp. Rain makers are probaly between 1.5 and 6 million.
Mentor
How long is a piece of string?
Depends on practice area, size of firm, clientele…Some partners earn millions, others barely scrape a living.
Don’t forget about equity contribution. Depending on how those payments are structured, it could be that total compensation is less than senior associates for a few years.
Subject Expert
First year partners make over $1m here.
Mentor
P1, thank you! This is exactly what I was trying to understand!
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Enthusiast
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Enthusiast
At my firm, junior partners very often make less than senior associates and your salary is frozen at senior associate level once you are elevated.
Wow. What firm is this