This weekend, I saw a thread suggesting that a midlevel associate with a $500k net worth had accumulated enough to Coast FIRE and leave BigLaw altogether. I also came across a thread where current BigLaw attorneys shared their net worths, and some of the numbers made me wonder why they were still working.
Maybe I’ve become desensitized to the economics of BigLaw, but $500k doesn’t seem like nearly enough of a financial cushion to comfortably walk away, even with the prospect of letting those assets grow over time.
For those who have left BigLaw based primarily on their accumulated wealth, what was your net worth when you made the jump? For those still in BigLaw, do you have a target number at which you’d feel financially secure enough to walk?
edit - this assumes one will continue working after BL.