Runway Strategies reposted this
Did you know: A typical brand new associate in a civil defense firm will make the firm about $400,000* in their first full year. If you didn’t know that, now you do. So, let’s just call it like it is: law firms want to make a ton of money. Ok, great - who doesn’t? No big deal there; let’s just be transparent about where an awful lot of that money comes from: the multiplied productivity of associates. Let’s also just call it what it is, though: a business, just like a business that sells widgets. Although many won’t want to hear it, the economics of a law firm are like any business in a capitalist economy: the lower the cost of the employee and the higher productivity of that employee, multiplied by many times over, the more money the owners of the business make. Which, again, is fine - it’s their business. Why do I share all of this? I’m tired of the narrative that “law firms don’t make any money on new associates.” Because… they do. And A LOT of it. And that false narrative does an awful lot of bad for our young lawyers, especially when it comes to mental health. It doesn’t have to be this way, and should not be. Money and profit are great, but let’s do it with transparency and humanity. *Billing 40 hours per week, for 49 weeks (need to throw in some vacation and holiday days, after all) - 1,960 hours - at $200/hour. Honestly, though, this is a conservative estimate given (1) how many times I hear “I’m never able to take any vacation days”, (2) $200/hour is on the lower end of average, (3) most defense firms have billable expectations WELL above 1,960 hours.