Biglaw

'The Tone Deafness Is Astounding': An In-House Hot Take On The $190K Salary Scale

Some in-house leaders think the new Biglaw pay scale is absurd.

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I find it unfathomable that not just one but many law firms believe that a first-year associate coming out of law school would command such a high starting salary.

The tone deafness is astounding. We as purchaser of legal services keep asking our firms to bill based on value because that is what we want to buy, not hours. They respond by raising rates across the board. It is no wonder that the largest-growing segment in the legal industry over the past few years has been the role of in-house counsel. You can keep living in your ‘reality distortion field’ and pay a first-year associate $190,000. You certainly will attract lawyers to come work for you but we are firing you everyday….

— An anonymous in-house legal operations director, commenting quite candidly about the new $190K salary scale for first-year Biglaw associates, in an interview with Corporate Counsel.

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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