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I am a final year student at a tier-1 NLU. I have secured an offer from a Tier-1 firm in our country. I am however not sure yet if I should work with the firm or return back to my family business. In order to make a proper analysis, I am interested examining my financial prospects of working in the law firm v. Family business.
I did my research and was able to find compensation structure for each level in a law firm. However, too little is discussed about compensation of a partner in a tier 1 law firm. Could someone please discuss the compensation amount and structure of a partner at a tier 1 law firm. If I make partner, Can I expect 1 Crore salary straight in the first year? At what rate does a partner's salary grow? If I stay as a partner for 5-6 years what amount can I expect? How much do senior partners (more than 20 years in the practice) make at a law firm?
Please provide genuine answers only. Thanks for taking our your time. Much appreciated!
1. You might not make it to partner at a tier-I firm. There's nothing wrong with that, most people don't. Do not start with the assumption that you will stick it out for 20-30 years, you might make yourself miserable. It might seem very achievable before you start working, but the considerations change a lot 2-6 years after you start working.
2. Some practice areas have the potential to make you a lot more money. M&A (especially PE) would pay you a lot more than IP or tax for instance.
3. At senior partner levels, your compensation will (at most places) be tied with your ability to get and retain clients. If you cannot get reliable clients, you will not make a lot of money. Unlike progression through the associate ranks, you will not make huge jumps in salary just due to experience.
As for starting salaries, depending on the firm, you could earn close to a crore, if not more, in the first year. It depends a lot on your team and work-profile more than anything else.
Generally, you will almost never leave a firm, especially these days, because you earn too little. For most people, even the prospect for earning crores before they are 35 is not enough to keep them in firms.
IMO you should work at a firm for a few years regardless. People on this forum discount a lot of the polish and skills you obtain as an associate in a firm. Being able to review, draft and negotiate agreements with firm experience will make your business life a lot easier.