Related Posts
Got a random email from a supposed Amazon recruiter for a SDE position (which is not at all a fit). The email is amazon.com domain and there are no red flags in the body but it doesn't feel like an Amazon recruiter due to the tacky signature, etc. Has anyone seen this kind of cold-calling from FAANG recruiter?
Conversation Starter
More Posts
Chief
Enthusiast
Hello All,
I have recently joined FIS Global around end of April. My mother recently met with an accident and she needs to be operated.
I haven't been able to update the anything regarding the insurance part yet on FIS portal.
Will my mother's treatment be covered under the insurance? If yes, what's the procedure for the same? What are the documents that I need to submit in order to claim the amount?
Can anyone please guide?
Additional Posts in Law
How hard is the path from lit to GC?
Chief
Rising Star
Rising Star
New to Fishbowl?
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
Staff attorney positions are typically non-partner track positions, resulting in lower pay and perhaps a higher billable requirement. If you’re on partner track now and that’s something you want, probably not worth taking a staff attorney position.
Pro
P1, what’s their practice area? Litigators in LB work BL hours from what I’ve seen.
You don’t say what your practice group is and what practice you’d be a staff attorney for, which could help. It also seems that by biglaw you mean a large law firm. Staff attorney can be a good role for some people. The comp can be decent and you might make counsel if you are very good and make sure folks know it. It is significantly lower comp than associate roles though and it can be hard to be around people making so much more than you. You might want to consider knowledge management roles, which can be lower stress. KM folks often get to try out new tech, too, which can be fun.
Commercial litigation for both and yes that’s essentially what I meant (but also amlaw 200).
I often times feel bad for our staff attorneys because they are paid significantly less than associates and I see them working late frequently despite the difference in comp. In my opinion, probably not worth the pay cut.
Let me reiterate that my posts asks WHY THIS MIGHT BE A GOOD MOVE.
I moved from an in house attorney position at a big company to a Big Law staff attorney position. I thought I would avoid the burnout common with associates because it wasn’t partner track. I am here to tell you it doesn’t work that way. If a partner or client wants something done NOW they don’t really care about the staff attorney designation and they expect you to jump as high as an associate. If you are looking to have a life, I would say try to find an in house gig.
It depends what your long term career goals are. It’s difficult to do associate to SA to associate again in the future. I can tell you first hand.
Well I am currently an SA at one of the biggest firms. We have a lot less hours here. I am a litigation SA so it is limited to doc review only. It is very peaceful and relaxing but you are missing out on the depositions and court stuff that I enjoyed. There’s general no path to becoming an associate at that particular firm once you’re an SA. It’s more time for family and friends and less pressure for sure. I plan on going back to being an associate but I will say, I needed this break to avoid burnout.
Gonna be like a 70% pay cut. I was offered sub-six figures for a staff attorney position with a biglaw firm.
At the end of the day, it depends on what you want for the future. If you are okay with getting off a partner track, it might not be so bad. You also will have to recognize that you won’t have the same pay opportunities as your class year colleagues. But generally (not always) you should have a lot more work life balance. All depends on what is priority for you.
Only a fool continues to do the same thing, expecting a different result. Break the chains and either go to a smaller boutique firm or open up your own. you wont regret it.
Staff Attorney is typically lower rung, not partner track, and much lower paid. You will be second class and there is usually no clear path to get back on partner track. It will also look bad on your resume and other big firms won’t look at you competitively.
Staff attorneys are essentially in-house/firm contract attorneys for law firms instead of hiring doc review attorneys. It is not a good move and is likely to derail your career. If you’re in Big Law, it seems odd to not have this awareness of the stark difference between the two positions. If you’re looking for something with less pressure, perhaps try in-house or a midsize/smaller firm with lower billable hours.
One generally only should take this as a last resort to getting into biglaw. You can sometimes get on a partner track position and the normal biglaw scale, but it often is difficult and is relatively rare. Makes sense mostly for those with a lack of well-paying alternatives and who lack typical credentials.
I'm a staff attorney and have been for about twelve years. It can be a better quality of life but it is duplicitous of the responsibilities. Yes, you might not have the late nights all the time, but you will have them regularly. You might think it is just document review at all places, and they'll tell you that, but then they will slowly uncover your skills and start funneling other work your way. Once you get there, you'll get associate level work for staff attorney pay. Now, some might like that and see it as a learning opportunity, but you'll literally have to figure assignments you aren't sure how to do on your own because no one is going to train you or develop you. Bonuses... Unless you're billing 2200 hours, your bonus will be 5-10k. This is less than associates who could bill less because of the competition between law firms regarding compensation and bonuses. Staff attorneys aren't counted or considered any any better than non legal support staff.. who can get better bonuses and compensation than staff attorneys.
All in all, it isn't an awful gig if you understand that you will not be looked at as valuable or even a lawyer. Some associates will flip your work, if it's good, to partners and claim it as their work.
Lastly, firms like having staff attorneys because we have a higher profit margin than associates, and we have low expectations for compensation so the partners can get a bigger equity check at the end of the year. Staff attorneys are basically abused by management for work and lower comp. But hey, clearly I've stuck with it, so it can't be that bad right? Actually there's a song by Robert Tepper from a Rocky movie that is appropriate as to why I'm still a staff attorney. Can you find it? Some have said as much in these comments. Haha!
It really depends on the firm. I’m an SA and generally get 8 hours a day of billing. I think I only had to work more than 9 hours twice in my 1.5 years here. I have only done doc review
Staff attorney presently. Upside is dependent on what you let them know you know how do. The more associate level work they know you can do, the more they will use you as an associate and then all you have done is discounted yourself while the firm makes a higher profit margin on you, associates throw their workliad on you, and you never have to consider you for promotion. Raises can be 2-10k usually. Often liability returns over productivity it commitment. So play dumb and it's an okay gig, though they will send hate your way at least you'll not be drafting fillings, memory, deposition stuff late into the night or weekends. But remember, all that is out the window when you slip and let them know you can actually do higher level stuff. And some associates will just flip your work to a partner and take credit - if caught because something was wrong, under the bus you go. So, know what you're getting into. Oh, and yeah, there's no road back to associate at big law if you do go staff attorney. Oh, and the bonuses are equal to or less that admin staff unless you're doing associate work - by a lot sometimes... And if you are accepting associate level work, why in earth would you do it for less compensation? The better option is fine another big law associate job, change your scenery, push reset, and keep on going. That helps a great deal with burn out. I wish I would have had someone tell me this that had gone staff attorney. Good luck!