Florida > Topics > Info on Starting Salaries in South Flori...

You mentioned Wicker Smith starts a little higher...do you know how much? And also what about for lateral attorneys?

10-05-2007 02:45 PM

Law firms are making an investment when hiring first year attorneys.  First year associates are a liability, not an asset as they cost the firm money.  They will spend 8 -10 hours an a project that would take a more experience attorney 2 or 3 hours, and it then has to be reviewed by another attorney and most of that time cannot be billed back to the client. There is a huge learning curve the first year and new associates should focus their energy on learning what they need to do their job and stop worrying about what everyone else is making.  Find a firm willing to train you, one that will let you attend depos and hearings with another attorney and not just shove you in a corner to do research for your first six months.

10-27-2007 07:22 AM

To the last anonymous poster. I couldn't disagree with you more. I actually am very close friends with the controller at my law firm and I know that first year associates today actually begin to generate revenue for a firm far more quickly than associates of years past.Today's associate enters the workforce with clerkship and internship experience that was not necessary and not the norm ten years ago. I do think finding a firm where you will gain good tangible experience is more important than money. However, rising tuition costs have left graduates with more obligatory bills to pay than years past. The cold, hard truth is that while large large firms have increased salaries to keep up with the rising cost of living and market rates, the mid sized and small firms don't publish salaries and encourage associates to keep them a secret so they can keep more money in their pockets and not raise salaries to market level. A first year associate today is ten times more valuable than a first year associate of ten years ago. They know more about how to practice law because today's market place forces them to have work experience before they get out of law school. I never took 8-10 hours to do a project that would take a more experienced associate 2-3. While things did take me longer in the beginning, I like most associates didn't bill the actual time it took me and worked longer hours to compensate. There have been associate surveys that show that first and second year associates actually tend to under-bill their time and it is in large part attributable to the attitude promulgated in the post above. Associates begin to generate revenue for a firm anywhere from day one to a few months after starting. Even if the antiquated theory regarding the "first year liability" is true, firms need to raise salaries to market rate to help aid in firm retention which would overall help the firm's bottom line. If you lost an associate after the first year or two because you don't pay them properly, then you never recoup this money that you purport to have spent training them!

11-01-2007 05:18 PM

Hi everyone.

I am relocationg to Miami and would like to know what to do in terms of my job search there.  I am an 07 NYLS graduate.  Passed the NY bar and registered for the FL bar.

I am looking for work down there but you obviously know nothing is happening on that end.  I am thinking of temping.

Does anyone here know of temp agencies there and if so, how soon do they get positions?

For example in NYC, some agencies can consistently get positions within weeks.  What about in Miami?

Also, any other information and suggestion will be appreciated.

Thanks.

12-04-2007 04:12 PM

I am unsure of how old the OP was but Cole Scott starts at $85k/year now in Miami. Unsure as to what the other offices start at.

07-19-2009 09:30 PM