Other than higher pay (I didn’t become a lawyer to get rich 🤣) what is the benefit of working for BigLaw, or private practice in general? As a government lawyer, I make 6 figures, have excellent benefits, no billable hours requirements, more time off than I know what to do with (including mental health days), a pension, a 401(K), option to chose whether to WFH or not, no weekend work, no working before 8am or after 5pm. It seems like so many lawyers in private practice are unhappy.

It really seems like you made this post to boast about yourself and potentially even to try to make big law attorneys feel bad? There’s nothing wrong with being motivated by money or prestige. Frankly half the time we hear about some groundbreaking social initiative case, there was a biglaw attorney behind that doing it as pro bono. A lot of biglaw attorneys are in it just so they can pay off massive amount of debt, so that they can support their families, and often because they grew up in poverty themselves and don’t want their families to experience that (seriously seems like 1/2 biglaw attorneys I know grew up in houses where they were food scared at least once).

So it sounds like you have a good gig for what you’re looking for in your life.

Financial freedom goes above meeting immediate family needs. Double Big Law household, both under 40, combined income close to $1M. We both enjoy the complex nature of the work, but both coming from low to middle income homes, we are maximizing the opportunity to skip a generation of wealth building and give our children an astronomically better life than either of us had growing up.

It's really about working for our kids and hopefully grandkids. Generational wealth has to start somewhere. I don't look down on government attorneys by any means but the original post was really demeaning to those of us who ARE working very hard in exchange for potentially generation-changing money. I think that is a pretty good reason to stay practicing at this level.

Haha dying at this because a big law guy I was talking to on a dating app the other day would not accept that I don’t want to be in big law 😂 In all honesty, I think a lot of big law attorneys don’t understand that there are smart, capable attorneys in other kinds of law firms

Oh no it’s true! I work a demanding job because I like the financial freedom that results from making bank!

OP has really helped me see the above. Not sure how I overlooked it previously.

Where do you work?? 👀👀👀

If you plan to have kids, I would stay where you are

Because AFAIK government EC/VC/M&A attorneys don’t exist…

I enjoy the work I do.

Such an interesting thread. I’m curious how many years did it take for you to make 150k? Your situation sounds incredible but as someone who makes 250k now with two YOE in big law, I’ve wondered how difficult it’ll be to take a pay cut even for a job with a better WLB. By the time I plan to pay off my loans, I’ll probably be making $300k and I think just mentally it would be hard to take a 50% pay cut. I wonder if that’s just what it comes down to for a lot of people.

I’ve worked govt and big law. The training is invaluable so far. Idk if I’ll stay, but I’m seeing a side of law that you just don’t see in govt.

I'm genuinely curious about what benefits the OP has that are so great and better than in Big Law. I have a few friends who work for the federal government and also have mentioned how great their benefits are, but when we have compared them, the benefits seem to be on par or better in private practice to me. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

Sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself more than us

I’m a government lawyer and I certainly don’t have that work schedule.

I can live in almost any major city in the world of my choice at the drop of a hat job while being paid half a million dollars. Show me a government job that allows this kind of flexibility other than the foreign service, which I assume you’re not a part of.

Well good 4 u, u look happy and healthy. Not me if you ever cared to ask...

Just jumped from a similar situation you're describing to BigLaw. Money aside, I agree with your general premise. The only non-monetary benefit is seeing the other side of the work. You do get another perspective. I'm not saying more experience, but different experience. Government + private gives you a unique perspective.

I think it just comes down to priorities.

I’m in-house now, and the main thing I miss about being in a law firm is variety. At a firm, i was always working on a lot of different, complex matters and issues. My work is a lot more repetitive now. I also miss law firm structure and perfectionism. In-house is the wild wild west in a lot of ways - you have to be comfortable with “good enough,” which has been an adjustment. That said, I make good money (though my ceiling would have been higher at a firm) & I have WAY better WLB now. For that reason, I won’t go back to a firm.

To me, this seems similar to your situation. You might get more variety and gain new perspectives at a firm - and you might make more money - but it doesn’t sound like those things are as important to you as your flexibility and free time. That’s totally fair & there is nothing wrong with that!

I spent 15 years in local government practice and then went to big law. Been here 16 years. Local government work was great, until it wasn’t. I had a lot of responsibility and opportunity. Made a federal appellate argument as a 6th year. Worked with great clients. But there was no support. And I realized I had gone as far as I could in the political environment at that time. Ah, the politics. I didn’t want to wait for the politics to shift or become embroiled in them myself. Maybe you won’t encounter those things. If you are challenged by your work and the compensation is enough, stick with it. Lord knows, we need smart, committed lawyers at all levels of government.

Late to the party but wanted to share my perspective - I have had a super untraditional legal path. Was lucky to not have loans and wanted to pursue a career in public interest civil rights law (which is why I went to law school in the first place), so I worked for the government and then a somewhat civil rights oriented law firm for the first few years post law school.

I then decided to go into biglaw because I wasn’t making enough to save and invest in my family’s future and wouldn’t have been able to accomplish some of my goals like buy a house, etc. (which I’ve been able to do after 3 years in biglaw).

I was skeptical of biglaw my entire career up until the time I joined a biglaw firm and I still have a lot of criticisms of it but, money aside, there is no question it made me a MUCH better thinker and lawyer than I would have been if I had stayed at my small firm and in government. It’s the amount of resources available and the fact that I get to interact with so many different incredibly smart lawyers and specialists on a daily basis. The quality of lawyers in the public interest positions was also great (a lot of people were super well credentialed and well qualified) but I felt that resources were stretched and I found myself doing a ton of administrative non legal work that I don’t have to do now.

I also think that yes capitalism sucks but the fact that the pace is much much faster in biglaw has helped me work better under pressure and has forced me to learn a lot more much quicker than in my previous jobs.

Lol… just posting this to flex on all us peasants slaving away only to have no life. Can I have your job?

Adrenaline addict here! Guessing there’s not much of that in gov law?

I tripped and fell into biglaw. I originally worked in healthcare and my employer literally forced me to go to law school. If it were up to me, I would still work in a hospital.

Regarding the socioeconomic comments, I’m a first generation American. My brother and I are both first generation college grads and lawyers. He graduated law school in 2013, and I graduated in 2015.

My brother worked in Congress after college and returned when he graduated from law school. He worked on the Hill until he transitioned to the Administration when Biden was elected. That said, he has always had an incredible calling for public service because our parents are immigrants and because they grew up in poverty.

What’s crazy to me is that he made like $75-85 from 2013 to 2021 while living in DC! It wasn’t until he changed branches that he started making lawyer money (>$150).

When he worked in Congress his hours were insane and his bosses (the members) were all insane and abusive. Elections made his life less predictable. All of that, and he still had a satisfying experience. So much so, that he says he misses working on the hill, despite the pay difference.

Meanwhile, I went to a mid size national firm immediately after the bar making what he makes now. I recently lateraled to an AmLaw100 firm that feels a lot like a mid size firm, except it feels like working for a big company. My work ensures that patients receive safe and quality health care in hospitals. As a Catholic, I believe this is God’s plan for my life.

Overall, I think my brother has it better. He’s been able to get married and buy a house. I’ve let my work destroy my personal life. I’m single, live alone, don’t have any friends, and have been WFH since 3/16/20. Basically, I’m completely alone with my biglaw salary. Yay!