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This is going to not go well for your self worth, apologies in advance. That salary sounds awfully low and I hope you’ve a very robust bonus or commission type system in place
No robust bonus unfortunately. That is my salary lol
Rising Star
Good lord. The low base for plaintiff side is pretty typical but the bonus structure needs to be worth it. They are robbing you if they aren’t giving you a taste of the cases you’ve originated for the firm. Even if a referral fee had to get paid out, you should at least get some financial recognition. Plaintiff firms I know of with low based will usually give you 20-33 percent of what you bring in and 10-15 percent cut on files you principally work up. Others that run a lot of volume or do catastrophic cases pay six figure bases similar to defense firms. I’d take a peak around for a better deal
Wow. Thank you so much for that information. It’s very hard to know whether your salary is reasonable as people don’t typically discuss what they’re making. It’s also hard when you have about a year of experience as an attorney as you essentially “know nothing” compared to what you will learn...I appreciate the feedback.
Husband is an 8th year in CA. Makes $125k base plus twice yearly bonuses based on money generated by the firm plus comp from bringing cases in. That’s where most of his big pay comes from. Brings in a case and negotiates his percentage.
That’s low, especially for NYC! Im in DC and even the public interest plaintiff side first years get at least 70k. Also that’s a lot of work for very very little pay. Time to get out, sounds like there might be cracks in your firm’s business structure.
I used to live in NYC, how are you eating?
That salary is low. My 1st year base at a small plaintiff's was 80. This doesnt look as good as it sounds though, because my firm is small and runs lean so healthcare/retirement is all self funded. I took it over higher-paying jobs because the autonomy and trial experience offered was second to none.
If you have a benefits package that is stellar then your situation isnt that bad, but still low for the region. I'm in Texas and my COL is probably a third to half of yours.
I dont know what your work profile is so I cant comment if that caseload is high or low. Some guys I know have practices where you maintain 300+ cases, but they're just pushing paper. If you're doing full case development on each of those it sounds like they're working you to the bone.
Good luck, man.
Rising Star
Rural midwest, $50,000 salary at an incredibly small shop. No raises and no room for advancement.
Bonuses could be generous depending on the boss’s mood. There was no merit or prerequisite other than the boss being in a good mood more times during the year than not. No cut of any cases originated or as principal. Most I ever saw it get up to was $75,000 but that was rare.