How underpaid am I? Small business lit firm, 4th year, $110k base, 1600 billable hours, MCOL area.

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It depends. If you have the skills and credentials to make it in big law then you’re probably not making what you could make. That said, for a1600 hr requirement as a 4th year I don’t think the pay is that terrible.

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Interview elsewhere and you'll soon find out.

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I just lateraled from pretty much the exact same situation to a biglaw firm and got a $150k raise. It’s hard to tell cuz I haven’t been there long enough, but so far I work the same actual number of hours because I was doing so much nonbillable stuff at the small firm.

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Seems pretty fair.

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Maybe not for your hour requirement. That comes out to about 30 hours a week, which is pretty much part time (I get you would need to make up for vacations though).

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i make $175k/year, non atty, california pay.

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Very underpaid. You’re a 4th year so you should definitely be making way more money than that. Look at the comps in your area at other similar firms.

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How big is this firm and what are the bonuses like?

I make more than that as a paralegal in Atlanta with a lower billable requirement.

Fair point! 14 years as a paralegal with 6 years in HR beforehand.

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