Most lucrative and prestigious law

[mikeyakay2j]

Hey crew,

This is my first post. I genuinely have no preference as to what kind of law I want to practice however I am curious on what pays the most and carries the most prestige. Just out of curiousity. Thanks guys n gals =)

[Denny Crane]

Pays most?  Well, some may say corporate law, but I would say ambulance chasing (ie: personal injury law) pays the most.  It also carries the least prestige.

Most prestige?  Supreme Court Justice.

[BonesMcJones]

To get paid the most as a young attorney with no experience you'll need to work in a V100 firm in a large city that pays market rate (140-145K in NY right now).  If you don't go to a T14 you will need to go to a tier 1 school and do well, with your class rank needed and school ranking being inversely correlated (ie if you are in a T15-20 you do not need to do as well academically as you would in a T25-30 school to land such a job) 

Prestige is subjective.  You would probably want to work in a US Attorney's office or clerk for a federal court judge.  Unless you go to an upper tier one school and are at the top of your class these wont be options for you.

[StudentUVA]

Ditto. I'm also more interested in pay than anything particular that I'll do. I think i'll go into coroporate stuff (securities, contracts and etc) since I'm an economist and i love that stuff, and i think it will pay me the most.

[BonesMcJones]

BIGLAW associates all make the same salary, regardless of whether they are corporate or litigation.

[mikeyakay2j]

So accident attorneys make the most $$$? really?? is there a website that has a breakdown of the legal fields and states the average starting salary?

[BonesMcJones]

So accident attorneys make the most $$$? really?? is there a website that has a breakdown of the legal fields and states the average starting salary?

if by most you mean least, then yes.

[Denny Crane]

The real question is why would anyone go into law in order to make money?  People who are able to get into law schools are probably able to get into business shools, so if your main concern is to make money, why not go into the private sector (ie: banking, investing, etc)?  I never really could understand why someone would want to be miserable and be a glorified paralegal at a corporate job when they could be getting paid more than that straight from college at a top banking firm.

[bamf]

To get paid the most as a young attorney with no experience you'll need to work in a V100 firm in a large city that pays market rate (140-145K in NY right now).  If you don't go to a T14 you will need to go to a tier 1 school and do well, with your class rank needed and school ranking being inversely correlated (ie if you are in a T15-20 you do not need to do as well academically as you would in a T25-30 school to land such a job) 

Prestige is subjective.  You would probably want to work in a US Attorney's office or clerk for a federal court judge.  Unless you go to an upper tier one school and are at the top of your class these wont be options for you.

interesting to point out that the head US Attorney went to SUNY Buffalo.

[Denny Crane]

To get paid the most as a young attorney with no experience you'll need to work in a V100 firm in a large city that pays market rate (140-145K in NY right now).  If you don't go to a T14 you will need to go to a tier 1 school and do well, with your class rank needed and school ranking being inversely correlated (ie if you are in a T15-20 you do not need to do as well academically as you would in a T25-30 school to land such a job) 

Prestige is subjective.  You would probably want to work in a US Attorney's office or clerk for a federal court judge.  Unless you go to an upper tier one school and are at the top of your class these wont be options for you.

interesting to point out that the head US Attorney went to SUNY Buffalo.

I think he means maybe straight out of law school these wouldn't be options.  Maybe the head US Attorney was a prosecutor at the local level first and worked his way up?   Just a thought.