I have been hearing/reading this rumor for a while, and I just do not see how it is possible. I understand that NYC is more expensive than Dallas (where many firms are paying $160K). However, using the starting market in Dallas (or say Atlanta which is 145K) to say that lawyers in NYC should get a raise is slightly erroneous at best. Market dictates salary. If NYC can "only" pay 160K, and students take it, why would they raise. What is their incentive to do so? Fairness? I doubt fairness is considered. Frankly, we are all going to make too much money for what we can do coming out. While I'm not certain, partners most likely think we get paid too much. Also, where is this money coming from? I doubt it would come out of the pockets of partners. So, you might make more, but you will have to bill more, or they will hire less first years. Either way, you are going to be working harder and you life as a result will be less fulfilling (unless the only way you can define yourself is by being a BigLaw Hotshot Lawyer with a six figure salary and if that is the case I'm not sure "fulfilling" is really an accurate description of your life). Is $30K more a year really worth it? One poster mentioned he/she wasn't sure what NYC firms have to offer since you are basically getting paid less once you factor in cost of living. That is a fair statement, and one I thought at the start of the job search. However, NYC firms can offer jobs where as some of the smaller markets cannot. Right now, the job market SUCKS. Many, many people with great grades and good personalities cannot get a job here in Atlanta (I go to Emory). However, we can find jobs in NYC and CA. So while Atlanta may offer a better COL/pay ratio at least at first), there are less jobs to go around, so it really isn't an option. I think the big firms here got caught up in the salary raises and now it is starting to hurt them.
Quote from: Refused Party Program on September 29, 2008, 04:22:28 PMI have been hearing/reading this rumor for a while, and I just do not see how it is possible. I understand that NYC is more expensive than Dallas (where many firms are paying $160K). However, using the starting market in Dallas (or say Atlanta which is 145K) to say that lawyers in NYC should get a raise is slightly erroneous at best. Market dictates salary. If NYC can "only" pay 160K, and students take it, why would they raise. What is their incentive to do so? Fairness? I doubt fairness is considered. Frankly, we are all going to make too much money for what we can do coming out. While I'm not certain, partners most likely think we get paid too much. Also, where is this money coming from? I doubt it would come out of the pockets of partners. So, you might make more, but you will have to bill more, or they will hire less first years. Either way, you are going to be working harder and you life as a result will be less fulfilling (unless the only way you can define yourself is by being a BigLaw Hotshot Lawyer with a six figure salary and if that is the case I'm not sure "fulfilling" is really an accurate description of your life). Is $30K more a year really worth it? One poster mentioned he/she wasn't sure what NYC firms have to offer since you are basically getting paid less once you factor in cost of living. That is a fair statement, and one I thought at the start of the job search. However, NYC firms can offer jobs where as some of the smaller markets cannot. Right now, the job market SUCKS. Many, many people with great grades and good personalities cannot get a job here in Atlanta (I go to Emory). However, we can find jobs in NYC and CA. So while Atlanta may offer a better COL/pay ratio at least at first), there are less jobs to go around, so it really isn't an option. I think the big firms here got caught up in the salary raises and now it is starting to hurt them. well yeah that's another aspect of it. nyc attnys generally work harder than attnys in other markets. so not only do we (i.e. nyc associates) have to deal with the obscene CoL, we also have to deal with the fact that our supervising partners are generally going to demand more. from a career point of view, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, esp if you plan to lateral into something a little more functional after several years of hard on the job training. still, the fact remains that you expect some form of compensation commensurate with the level of effort you're putting into your job. yeah, bonus serves this function but a lot new attnys expect still expect that representative wage... which, depending upon how you look at it, doesn't exist in nyc anymore.a couple of things that i attempt to remind myself of:-when i applied to law school in '05, the biglaw wage was 125 and that seemed amazing to me. the fact that i'm now complaining about 160k is (at least on some level) semi-absurd.-though i have to pay ~6k in city taxes, i don't have to 1) get a car, 2) pay for insurance, 3) spend hours in rush hour per week, and 4) worry about paying for egregious gas fees [i.e. these things have a way of balancing themselves out]-yeah ok you don't need a car in DC either and you're still getting 160 - ok, fine, but i personally believe that the 6k is more than worth the price paid for living in DC -if and when 190k actually does happen, it'll happen in nyc first! haha, at least i, uh, have that .. so what's up with hoboken? i heard that it's semi-quiet / boring and more or less reserved for 30 somethings. is this an unfair mischaracterization? fun place to live? it sounds like it might be a viable alternative to living in the city [my studio apt is 2700 a month ... ridiculous]
Sorry, but raising salaries right now would be absolutely crazy. One major firm just fell apart and another is in serious danger of it, there are layoffs at many firms, and who knows what big client could fall apart next. At this point I am just hoping for a bonus. T. Durden, you pay 2700 a month for a studio in Manhattan? You are getting ripped off.
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