20 year attorney and equity partner at a coastal AmLaw 50 firm, and below are my candid thoughts on the themes of associate angst about our jobs/law firms.
We’ve chosen to optimize for money. Don’t expect to also be happy. BigLaw is intentionally peak misery, because you’re getting paid peak dollars, especially for someone in their 20s or 30s. Obviously, the law firm business structure has been created to: 1) impose delayed gratification which means you will be horribly underpaid relative to the revenue you generate, especially early in your career and; 2) ensure very few associates become equity partners, thus increasing profits per partner. The partners want and need most associates to eventually leave the firm for the business model to work.
SET ASIDE WHAT YOU CAN’T CONTROL
Clearly, many career factors are out of your control: the financial success of your firm, the financial metrics of your practice, how many associates are competing for a limited pool of work, if a critical client leaves, significant case settles, or AI takes over our jobs.
The greatest determinant of your long-term success is whether you believe YOU control your destiny, without becoming a control freak. You control your expenses, your savings rate, your social capital and network, your investment choices (please invest in index funds preferably not thru financial advisor charging 1%), your emotional intelligence at work, your sleep, your physical fitness and mental health.
RELATIONSHIPS ARE EVERYTHING, NOT EXPERTISE
I’ve heard this time and time again from in house counsel, technical expertise is presumed. You wouldn’t be in BigLaw if you weren’t excellent at your job. But corporate counsel wants to work with people they know and trust, and therefore relationships are all that matter. Those relationships require both non-billable hours and years to develop. Most rainmaking partners develop heightened EQ and often graduate from lower ranked law schools compared to the associates they supervise. Your professional success depends on real relationships that are developed outside of your firm preferably at competing firms.
When joining a firm whether you’re a first year or fifth year, figure out your exit strategy, recognizing that the vast majority of associates will not make it to Partner. Always have a Plan B. You have more negotiating power and leverage than you think, or your firm wants you to think.
DON’T SQUANDER THE MONEY YOU’VE WORKED HARD FOR
Most attorneys who earn $1 million, spend $1 million. Don’t be that person who buys a brand new BMW upon graduation, dozens of Rolexes, or a vacation home. Aim to save 30-50% of your post tax income. If you’re a young associate, spend like you’re a law student. If you’re a partner, spend like an associate. Every dollar that you save now will be worth $7 dollars in 20 years if invested in index funds like VTSAX at 10% rate of return. You can’t invest what you haven't saved.
Depending on your practice in your firm, BigLaw is actually relatively stable compared to other industries. Arguably, you generally know what your compensation will be over the next few years. That affords you the opportunity to take prudent risks with other parts of your life. Not sports betting risks, like investing 100% equity/index fund risk, starting a small business, or becoming a landlord.
PLAY THE RIGHT GAME
In 5 or 10 years, when you have made partner, you’ll realize how hollow and empty the achievement is. Yes, there’s more money, and yes, you have a new title, but it will be far from meaningful. You’ll say “Isn’t there more to this? Shouldn’t I be happier?” That's because serving on a management committee or partner level access to firm decision making and firm financial data don't lead to nirvana, fullfillment, or "enoughness." What we’ve “achieved” is fleeting, and remember how retiring partners are quickly forgotten.
Maybe you’ll be one of the lucky few that would do this job for free, but most retiring partners have a bag of money with no actual life outside the law. Winning the game isn’t having the biggest bag or reaching the highest tier of partner compensation. Winning is living a well-lived life where you control how and with whom you spend your limited time, which is infinitely more important than money.
According to the book, the Millionaire Next Door, your accumulated wealth is most likely to be eroded due to: 1) divorce and 2) supporting adult children who fail to launch. Invest substantial time in your relationships and children - be present. What you’re doing at work simply doesn’t matter if your family life falls apart, practically or financially. Unfortunately, BigLaw is usually peak misery, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be that way for you.