UK Millennial Lawyer Gets $50,000 Referral Bonus
London lawyers have 180,000 reasons to choose a job at a major American firm in the city, provided they are willing to sacrifice their personal lives, get used to sleeping only three hours a night and wait for the inevitable exhaustion.
However, many US law firms are making the deal more appealing by offering young millennials the chance to put their friends in the fight for a big financial reward.
After boosting starting salaries to more than £180,000 ($236,000) for new lawyers, US firms including Kirkland & Ellis and Paul Weiss are expanding referral bonus schemes, offering graduates a £38,000 ($50,000) bonus for referring a future colleague. The incentives come as law firms scramble for increasingly scarce talent after a rebound in deal activity this year.
US firms increased starting salaries for newly qualified lawyers earlier this year, with Quinn Emmanual and Gibson Dunn provide £180,000 salary for new solicitor in May.
UK-based “magic circle” law firms have struggled to keep up. Almost all, including Clifford Opportunityhas raised its starting salary to £150,000 ($197,000) to keep pace with American colleagues in London, creating a competitive race for higher salaries.
Referral bonuses give employees the opportunity to increase their overall salary. It can also be a win for the company, saving them the exorbitant fees charged by top recruiting firms.
According to the rules of conduct, a pair of employees participating in the program will split the bonus, each receiving $25,000 if the program is successful.
life is harsh
While this year’s lucrative salaries will make young, eager lawyers see profits, they should still proceed with caution.
Large law firms often have extremely busy schedules for new employees as soon as they join the firm, taking on thousands of billable hours as they work on major financial contracts.
Indeed, workers who recruit friends into this busy environment may not be trustworthy friends.
“I think among people in the legal profession, most would not recommend it to their children or their friends and family,” said a senior consultant who formerly worked at magic circles and US law firms. LuckHowever, those who have worked in this industry probably know what they are doing.
“What people are paying for is the lack of control over your own life. I think that’s why there are higher salaries and these referral bonuses,” she said.
“I remember staying up all night and being in the office most of the time.
“You basically have no control over your life and your social life, and you don’t know when you can go to the gym, when you can go out and see your friends.
“I think you would be hard-pressed to find any lawyer in any city firm who isn’t feeling burned out. And if they aren’t feeling it yet, they will feel it sometime in the next six to 12 months.”
Lawyers at big firms tend to get bored with their jobs after a few years, she said, but the pressure to gain years of experience and the promise of seven-figure salaries can keep them around much longer.
Referral bonuses are a way to retain current employees longer while they wait for their friends’ notice periods at their old company and the next probationary period.
She worries that rising salaries will not be good for the legal ecosystem as a whole.
“People are spending a huge amount of money to solve the problem,” she said, which could lead to increased fees that companies are willing to pay for their services.
