- Quickdraw McLaw
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Each year at this time we like to take a look at salaries and bonuses. For the last two years we did a compensation survey to give you an idea of how much money attorneys in Las Vegas make. You can see the results for 2017 and 2016 by clicking on the link. We didn’t do a new survey this year figuring that probably not much has changed. What do you think about the current state of pay for attorneys here? Are you underpaid or overpaid? Did you get a bonus? Has your billable hour requirement gone up or down this year? Any predictions on where compensation is headed?
8th year, $100k salary, $50k commissions, $10k bonus. Civil Lit (not PI).
Commissions?
There is another article in the Review Journal today about attorney Matthew Dunkley.
But there may an error as to the photo. accompanying the article. It may possibly be a photo. of Justice Mark Gibbons.
I thought it was Michael Gibbons.
Judicial discipline will go after Gibbons for pretending to be Dunkley. Such a smart, sophisticated bunch.
1:31 should win post of the day.
!:31, that is being generous.
Now this part of the Dunkley story has not been told and really is maybe the most interesting part for lawyers.
“There have been significant media inquiries into Clear Counsel Law Group’s relationship with Matthew Dunkley’s former clients,” the statement reads. “In 2017, the State Bar of Nevada requested and the Nevada District Court appointed Clear Counsel Law Group’s partners Jared Richards and Jonathan Barlow to act as special counsel to assist Mr. Dunkley’s former clients with open legal matters. Clear Counsel Law Group has no other relationship with Matthew Dunkley.”
So Clear Counsel gets asked by the Office of Bar Counsel to step in and help the State Bar of Nevada clean up Dunkley's mess by taking on a bunch of angry clients. Clear Counsel does. Now Clear Counsel is being publicly lambasted and excoriated by Metro because (in representing a bunch of angry clients) Metro wants to paint Clear Counsel as not being cooperative. What exactly could Clear Counsel tell clients when no money appears to have been transferred to Clear Counsel? What exactly was Cassady supposed to tell Rob Graham's clients because I can tell you that Cassady told Graham's clients the same thing– there is no money. Talk about no good deed going unpunished in trying to help! And where is the State Bar of Nevada to stand up for these guys in trying to help? NOWHERE TO BE FOUND. Thanks for helping Clear Counsel but the heat is coming down to answer for Dunkley's money so you are on your own.
No offense State Bar but **** that **** for not standing up for the people that you asked to help. Who would EVER want to help on a matter like this again knowing that they will be thrown to the wolves.
But these things ultimately are determined to be a little more complex and multi-layered than. When a firm steps in to help stop the bleeding with a financial/ethical mess of an embattled attorney, over the course of the following year things can get really blurred as to who is representing who, where funds should go, etc. It's never as clear as the State Bar, or anyone else, expects it to be. It is never as simple as monitoring these cases, and then when the money comes in make sure the client gets paid, the liens and providers are paid, and then isolate out the amount earned by the troubled attorney, and hold all his/her money until further instructions or orders, until everyone has been compensated, etc. And if the mess is ever fully cleaned up, the attorneys receipt and transfer of funds will still be monitored and controlled for the next several years via State bar discipline rulings, court orders, etc.
Perhaps it should work more like that, but it often does not. First off, the monitoring attorneys seldom simply inherit cases that are settling and the funds simply need to be protected and properly disbursed, or where the cases are already settled and the funds are safely there(few if any funds are still safely there as the attorney usually took them all, which is what gets him/her in trouble in the first place.)Instead, most of these case are still in progress, creating a nightmare wherein the new firm has to essentially proceed forward with all of them.
Secondly, things are always a complete mess, records and files are a disaster, and often no one knows who has asserted a lien, what providers still need to be paid, etc.
No one should ever volunteer to be a gatekeeper in these types of matters. Some firms do so in a misguided attempt to help a colleague,plus a belief they are inheriting some potential worthy case they can financially benefit from.As for the first reason, to help a colleague, don't be altruistic to the point you are helping a colleague who steals all the client funds for gambling and to support strippers. Situations like that are so extreme,that it can be a complete disaster for a firm that steps in. As to the second motivation, to financially benefit, seldom is this the case. But at least in the current situation, there are some unsettled contingency fee cases an attorney may benefit from. But as to the Graham situation, most of hose clients will insist they already paid for the services that were not rendered.
As always, I am criminally underpaid for what I do and everybody else is overpaid for what they do.
PREACH!
$63,356 as a law clerk. Amazing health insurance. Average 45-47 hours per week to get assigned duties completed. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Very little time off as no one to cover my duties.
You must work in a civil/criminal split court. Some of the law clerks on the murder track get away with doing almost nothing and showing up to work 20-ish hours a week. On the other end, some of the law clerks are putting in over 80 hours a week. Be thankful for your median workload.
9th year insurance defense at regional firm: $105,000 + 50% health + bonus of 10-20% if 1900 hours. I rarely work weekends. The atmosphere is relaxed so I won't complain.
It looks like things are changing, at least at the top. NALP Directory has BHFS paying $135 to first years and Snell paying $125. I think both were around $115 just a year or two ago.
As a percentage of total jobs in Las Vegas, these are so few that I consider them to be irrelevant as a metric for the market for attorney salaries.
It means the competition for the best talent is heating up. Also, I would bet 5-10% of lawyers in Las Vegas fancy their firm as a peer to Snell and BHFS at some level. Probably at least Kemp Jones, Pisanelli, Holland and Hart, Lewis Roca, Dickenson, Greenberg, MAC, Fennemore, Kolesar, MCW, Howard & Howard, and the L&E boutiques are pulling from the same talent pool. That's a lot of lawyers there. I had Armstrong Teasdale in there as well but it looks like they pay first years $130.
Yeah, that's up. I was a first year at one of 1:08's listed firms in 2014 and started at $115. And at the time that was higher than most of the others on the list (most were in the $95-$110 range).
I don't know what a lot of these firms pay, since most don't publish that publically, but at least 3 being $125k+ now seems good for the market.
11th year solo, made very little thus year, bonus was lot of time play with slime with nephews n nieces, great bonus, never been happier with work
Hear, hear
What is the average salary for a 3-4 year associate who can draft written discovery and dispositive motions, and maybe even do some depositions?
When I fit in that description (not so long ago), I made about $70k doing PI. I hope you make more than that!
This is going to depend a lot on practice area and experience.
Business litigation associate
My guess would be average is around $120k-ish for business lit. It is tough to average because business lit salaries are bi-modal. At one of the 10-15 firms practicing at the top of the market you are probably closer to $130k-$150k in pure salary and probably around $200k factoring in benefits and bonus. At small firms doing straight business lit you might be closer to $100k or so in salary.
It's official. 1:31 wins post of the day.
But its humor depends on context–i.e. readers being aware of yesterday's posts about the baffling proceedings against a J.P. for alerting police to a prostitution ring targeting victimizing youngsters–including the judge's daughter.
10-ish year solo. No staff except a bookkeeper who works remotely, and I do occasionally use contract attorneys. $250k net and my bonus is that I only occasionally wear pants while working.
That's solid. Do you have an idea what your worked in billables + admin/bus dev hours? Also what practice areas?
17yr attorney/partner at one of the firms mentioned above. 650k total.
@2:23 here – Generally, I'm in the office from 10-5-ish, although I'm always reading/responding to texts/emails and I'll often be on the phone while I'm driving to/from the office. I'd like to cut this aspect of my practice down, but in my experience, if you aren't responsive, the clients will eventually leave.
I don't know exactly what my billables were because some of my income was based on contingency and there is such a significant admin component to my practice, but I feel like I worked as much as billing the equivalent of 1400-ish at a regional firm (I used to work at one).
I probably spend about 1/3 of my time on admin, and 2/3 of my time on billable work.
And I mostly practice in general commercial lit. That's my bread and butter, although some of my income came from a few P.I. cases.
8th year at a 10-15 attorney insurance defense firm in lV. $125k salary and $15-20k bonus based on hours billed. Soul crushing work but rarely work nights and/or weekends. Benefits are not very generous as there is no 401k matching and have to pay many thousands of dollars out of pocket for my family's heath insurance.
What is the going rate for a good soul crushing these days?
Engaging in soul crushing after already selling one's soul to the devil sounds like failing to preserve the collateral, or something like that.
9th year attorney at insurance defense firm. $140k salary and $10k bonus. Seemingly stable job so long as I can hit the billables. No pressure to bring in clients.
Of course there's no pressure to bring in clients. They don't want you to focus on bringing in clients. If you could bring in clients, at some point, you might start to wonder, "Why am I working for these chiselers at $140k, when I could do what they did and start my own firm with my clients, and the adjusters who ask specifically for me when they refer cases to the firm?"
It's the fear of every ID partner that their most productive associates will realize how underpaid they are for the work they do.
Why start a ID firm and deal with the administrative headache of running a firm? I stuck it out and made equity partner after 12 years of practicing. Making a lot more money now and leave the admin stuff to others. Obviously, not everyone is going to make partner. However, if someone thinks that they have enough work to start their own firm, they're partnership material. Should weigh the pros and cons of sticking it out vs going off on their own.
As for the point about being underpaid, genuinely curious to know what would be an appropriate salary range for an associate. I see people throw the "underpaid" comment a lot, but no one mentions any specifics on the appropriate pay.
14 year attorney at a regional firm with about 100 lawyers. $425k salary, $50k ish bonus. great benefits including firm pays 100% of insurance, matches 50% of 401k contributions and a work environment where I don't end every week with a gun in my mouth.
4th year attorney. Raise puts me at $140k next year. Got $40k split between two bonuses this year and about $50k in extra origination fees on settled cases. No pressure to bring in clients, but a big incentive to do so. No billables.
What kind of firm?
Plaintiff PI.
Just curious, but does that mean you have a salary of $140k, plus $40k in split, plus $50k in origination fees, so $190k or so? I'm curious about how the PI compensation works, having never done that type of work.
I am at about $220k right now. Base salary for this year was $125k.
I would also be interested in a survey re: what current hourly rates are. I have seen insurance defense rates between $150-$200 for associates, and $175-$250 for partners, although I don't do insurance defense. Commercial lit rates seem to be between $175-$350 for associates and $275 – $575 for partners which are obviously large ranges so I'm interested in hearing from others.
Third year associate. My standard rate is $300. On some kinds of matters I bill $325-$350.
Holy mother of balls balls. I want to know what the attorneys above making $425K and $650K do. Do you have a life? Do you enjoy your work? Do you have children -if you do, do you see them? Did you sell your soul? Do you lie, cheat or steal hours to ear that wage? Do you mostly work on matters outside Nevada so you can bill higher rates? Do you have your own book and you're making originations off that book and that's how your income is so high? What have I done wrong in life? Should I go drink now? Lordy
12/19/2018 7:37 a.m. here. Most of my work is in Nevada in the range of rates mentioned above, with some work in the surrounding states. Have my own book of business in a big firm and keep a couple associates busy, but also receive a steady stream of referrals from other lawyers at the firm. Most of my business is representing larger companies in commercial litigation (but not insurance defense). Have a spouse and children. Usually bill in the neighborhood of 2000 hours.
One doesn't have to practice Plaintiffs' personal injury to make good money in this profession, although that's certainly one way to do it. As stressful as this job is, I do actually like my job.
Additionally, while making close to $500k is probably on the high side for 15ish year lawyers in Las Vegas, I don't think it's crazy or unheard of either for non-ambulance chasing lawyers.
Finally, at a firm that pays based upon merit, I also know that my income could drop quickly during a recession and/or if my work dries up so I'm trying to enjoy it while it lasts because nothing lasts forever.
New topic.
Let's say you're properly barred in Nevada and have never been subject to discipline. You actively practice in Nevada a few years and then leave the state, completely ceasing all law-related activities in Nevada from the day you leave. You don't contact the State Bar other than to update your contact information. You stop paying Bar dues and you stop CLE reporting. The Bar never contacts you.
Under these circumstances, what is your status with the Bar? What is necessary to re-activate your membership if you want to re-activate it? Can you be involuntarily disbarred under these circumstances without notice or a hearing?
By the hymen of Dolly Parton, what on earth would possess you to want to practice in Nevada? Run my friend, run!!
You can check the membership status at the bar's website. At a minimum I would guess the current status is dues and CLE suspended (separate suspensions). I am sure to get reinstated you would have to pay all outstanding funds (including penalties which can be substantial) and possibly make up some of the CLE credits.
Ok, thanks 12:17. Current status of the subject lawyer is listed on the website as "Attorney Suspended – CLE Suspended".
So are you saying that in order to leave the option open to being re-admitted, the member must bring his or her dues and CLE credits current, even though he or she has not practiced in Nevada during the period the dues were not paid? What if the time absent has been 20 years? Does the member need to pay 20 years of back dues?
Also, what if the member simply wants to stop being a member forever? What should he or she do in that instance?
By the way, called Member Services at the Bar and even the person who answered the phone could not answer these questions. And he was a little condescending about it! What the fuck is going on at that place?
What I did for Oregon was resigned so I didn't have to do CLE while inactive there. When I was ready to reactivate I was told I needed to do that year's CLE but not the years intervening. Active in Nevada so I don't know what the rule is here.
Probably because, as a lawyer, you're expected to know how to perform basic legal research, including being able to look up the applicable rules. Check SCR 116, 212, and 213.
In your example, the attorney is CLE suspended for more than 6 months. That means if he wants to get reinstated, for whatever reason, he needs to file a petition with the State Bar, including proof that he's completed 15 credits in the past 12 months, with 6 being ethics credits and 1 substance abuse. For each year he's been CLE suspended, he needs to have taken 5 additional credits. As for the CLE fee, yes, you get to pay all back fees plus a reinstatement fee.
If you just left the state, and didn't bother doing anything for a bunch of years, yeah, you're going to be CLE suspended. You're also likely subject to discipline for violation of SCR 115.
If you want to stop being a member forever, then voluntarily resign, following the procedures laid out in SCR 98. Holy hell, this isn't hard to find out.
If you want to leave open the possibility of coming back and practicing, transfer your status to Inactive. You still get nailed with annual dues, albeit lower than an active member, but you don't need to bother with CLE.
To 1:41: Thanks for the answer Janeen
1:41- One of the benefits of this blog is that practitioners can ask each other questions and practice tips without hopefully running into smug jerks. Stop being the a-hole that you are the other 50 weeks of the year and just be charitable for the last 2 weeks of the year.
1:41– Your dog called and asked if for Christmas this year you can stop kicking him for one week.