I am a third-year lawyer at one of the major Toronto firms, and the comparison with the US market is bumming me out. I billed about 1900 hours last year, with many last-minute closings, canceled plans, and working on files over Christmas and New Year’s, and I am considering my options.
Currently, Canadian first years start at around 135k CAD (97k USD) compared to the 225k USD (313k CAD) for US salaries. Even if I were to stay, I would not reach that level of income for quite a few years, and senior associates in the US basically make as much as a starting equity partner in Canada (although this gap widens after a few years).
I just wanted to know if anyone had some thoughts or more experience with the Canadian market. Does it get better once you reach partnership (it does not seem so with the partners I work with)? I am considering an in-house position at the moment.