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What is a reasonable rent increase %
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Rising Star
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Uh, you definitely did something right, and also wtf please let me into this magical firm of yours
We manage the deal flow pretty rigorously. Usually ends up being one or two $3-5M deals per quarter. We pass on bigger deals because we don't have the bandwidth (and it still sucks doing all the due diligence and doc preparation with no backroom staff). The downtime is pretty filled up with typical general practice work done at smaller firms (i.e., we will do anything under the sun except tax, patents, and family).
Chief
If you’re making say $150K for 1000 hours and your peers are making $190K for 2000 hours, you’re making 58% more per hour (probably more after taxes). Who’s laughing now?
No. Hold on to that for dear life.
Stay there forever especially if your partners value you, treat you with respect and don't break your soul. You found gold!!!
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Ditto. The pressure cooker of big law makes one want to quit most of the time
I have this constant voice in my head saying "but are you even an attorney if you bill less than 1500?" Weird? Yes. Irrational? Probably. Is there an off switch? Still searching.
I don’t necessarily disagree with all of the positive comments made in this thread; but given how many of these there are, I might offer a counterpoint.
I’m probably in the minority here but I really like biglaw. Like yeah I work a lot of hours and at times that sucks, but I also really like what I do, so it’s not a time sink, it’s doing what I enjoy. It’s pretty clear that so many people in this thread hate their jobs so much that they’re only considering how much they “have” to work rather than considering the quality of the work that they’re doing. That’s reasonable - my childhood friend is a paint chemist who loves his job to death, and his work sounds like living hell to me. The legal field attracts people because of the salary and societal prestige, but it’s a niche field, just like my buddy’s.
I think biglaw is super interesting at a high level, even if godawful at the lowest level. And ultimately, there’s no way to bill 1,000 hours and do quality, sophisticated M&A work - unless of course you’re working like a dog for 6 months out of the year and taking the other 6 months off. How are you going to dig in and do diligence that actually identifies material issues, negotiate working capital adjustments and generally do a good job on any reasonable timeframe while working 20 hours a week?
I also wonder if you were ever exposed to quality M&A if you cut your teeth in the cannabis space - it’s not exactly a sophisticated space. And if you left after 2-3 years, you frankly didn’t spend enough time to actually develop the higher level skills that allow you to run deals.
I have so much more to say but I realize after typing all this that I might well be responding to a troll. Like I’ve never even heard of a firm that’s ok with someone basically working part time and getting paid 150k, and what’s the point of even making this post?
But assuming you’re being genuine, and assuming you’re in the majority of people that dislike the actual work in biglaw, you’ve found a good gig. However, to answer your question: you absolutely are missing out on a lot of career development.
P.S.: what you’re describing isn’t imposter syndrome - that’s when you’re highly accomplished but you don’t feel like it. I do get what you’re saying though.
Chief
A6 a few things, I also really like my job but many times it is hard to justify the hours to friends and family - and I don’t have children so I can only imagine it would be more difficult to work the hours I do now if I had a young child like OP. It doesn’t sound like you are at a stage in your life where spending time with loved ones is a priority maybe you will reassess when/if that ever changes. But it sounds like no one is really upset they don’t get to spend more time with you and from the way your post reads I can see why.
Second, your post is extremely condescending and reads like you are simply trying to justify your existence. Questioning whether OP has ever done sophisticated/quality M&A work is uncalled for and is probably in response to your own feelings of inadequacy about learning people can make a good living without devoting their entire life to a job. Second, it doesn’t sound like you are in touch with how the cannabis industry has grown in the last few years - there are certainly extremely sophisticated big law attorneys in many of the boutiques that service the industry and quite a few biglaw firms in the west coast have cannabis practices that I am sure do as quality of work or better than what you do.
Lastly, what OP described is most certainly imposter syndrome - by all means graduating from law school and making a solid 6 figure income is being “highly accomplished” whether you think so or not.
Mid-100s not a great salary? Try making 60k in NYC
Rising Star
Public interest law or what?
You make mid 100s (like 150k or like 100k?) and can get away with billing less than 1400? Sounds like I did something wrong billing 2200 last year and only getting 170k after my bonus
Do what makes you happy
Rising Star
I wouldn't call what I have impostor syndrome, but I am envious of BigLaw salaries. My salary is healthy, especially for my very low hours expectation, and on balance I still wouldn't do BigLaw, but mortgage and other homeownership costs in a HCOL city with a wife who's not working have me pretty f'ing stressed out!
100% have been there. Mine is 2 now. When she was born, my wife's salary barely covered daycare.