Employment summary and biglaw

Regis_Phalange63

Hello,

As many of you know, on every employment summary sheet from each law school breaks down the law firm category into 8 subcategories: solo, 2-10, etc.... I used to think that only 501+ firms were considered biglaw but turns out I was kind of wrong? One of my closest friends has recently moved from a 501+ firm to a 251-500+ firm and her salary is exactly the same according to her. So my question what is the bottom line? If 251-500+ firms offer pretty much the same benefits, do 101-250+ firms count as biglaw too? When we see those biglaw percentages from law schools, do they only include 501+ firm stats?

Leah M B

Basically, it's all subjective. I think the biglaw payscale begins in that 251+ range, but some people don't consider firms biglaw unless they are 501+. If some statistic just references "biglaw" or "large firms", you have to ask or read fine print to know what they specifically mean. There's no set guideline. A firm that has 900 attorneys is a bit different from one that has 275, even if the pay is the same. So, it's just a matter of reading fine print and doing research.

Regis_Phalange63

@"Leah M B" said:
Basically, it's all subjective. I think the biglaw payscale begins in that 251+ range, but some people don't consider firms biglaw unless they are 501+. If some statistic just references "biglaw" or "large firms", you have to ask or read fine print to know what they specifically mean. There's no set guideline. A firm that has 900 attorneys is a bit different from one that has 275, even if the pay is the same. So, it's just a matter of reading fine print and doing research.

Got it. I thought there was a set definition. Thank you!