7 Top Tips to Help You Get Rich as a Lawyer
Calling someone a greedy associate is redundant, right? After all, while some of us were drawn to the law by our unflagging sense of justice and dreams of becoming a modern Atticus Finch, most of us enter the law for a very different reason: our desire for cold, hard cash and lots of it.
If you want to get rich as a lawyer, we don't blame you. Here are our top tips, from the FindLaw archives.
1. Want to Get Rich? Lawyering Is Still the (Second) Best Way
Worried about the legal market? The bi-modal distribution of legal salaries? Law school debt? You should be. These are all major obstacles for lawyers starting out. But, they're not insurmountable. Just look at the numbers: when it comes to high-paying professional careers, only physicians come out ahead of attorneys.
2. 8 Promising Practice Areas for Tomorrow's Lucrative Jobs
If you want to make money, focus on practice areas that are in demand now and will stay in demand for the foreseeable future. These eight promising practice areas should keep you bringing in the billable hours today and throughout your career.
3. Quinn Emanuel Wants to Pay You $35K to Leave Your Summer Job
As part of the continuing war for the top law school talent, Quinn Emanuel is ready to poach associates with a hefty signing bonus, but only after they've had a stint at another firm. Who knew quitting a summer gig could be so lucrative?
4. BofA GC to BigLaw: '$180K Junior Pay Is on Your Dime, Not Ours'
One by one, the biggest BigLaw firms have started handing out significant raises to their associates. Salaries of $180,000 are quickly becoming the new normal for new associates, though not all BigLaw clients are thrilled about the change.
5. Some of the Richest Lawyers Are Criminals
We'd never suggest pursuing a career in crime, but for some lawyers, an indictment or conviction hasn't kept them from pursuing legal careers -- careers that made them billionaires.
6. Alternative Way to Pay for Law School: Get a Sugar Daddy
Scared about graduating law school with six-figures of insurmountable debt? You could work full time while studying, paying for law school as you go. Or, you could follow in the footsteps of some other law school students and just get yourself a sugar daddy who'll help cover law school costs for you.
7. Want a Raise? Top 5 Tips for Salary Negotiation
If you want to make bank, you're going to have to work for it. And that includes working to negotiate the highest salary you can get. Here are some tips to help you get ahead.
Want more advice on succeeding as a legal professional? Follow Twitter (@FindLawLP) or Facebook (FindLaw for Legal Professionals).
Related Resources:
- Elite Boutique Firms Continue to Outdo BigLaw When It Comes to Associate Salary Raises (Above the Law)
- The Art of Salary Negotiations for Lawyers (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)
- Laterals: Should You Give Your Salary History? (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)
- This Lawyer Is Orange and Has a Lambo. Do You Want to Be Him? (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)