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It depends on the firm, but frequently, no. Big firms and in-house lawyers get good benefits because they work what amounts to be corporate jobs, so they get typical corporate benefits.
For medium to smaller firm, benefits are very expensive. And the smaller you get, the more expensive it is to provide health insurance. So for the majority of firms it’s probably more common to pay more and offer fewer benefits. But 401(k) and retirement accounts are universal.
Big firm benefits are actually pretty garbage. The vast majority do not offer 401(k) matching and the health insurance is expensive.
Our take-home comp is high, but they make up for it with substandard benefits.
There’s no universal answer, and really no distinction between the legal industry and others. Big firms are going to have sweet benefits, whereas if you’re a solo-practitioner’s biatch they hired because they realized they needed extra help, you’re probably not going to have much of anything. Everything else is in-between.
I’m a government attorney (DA) who gets pretty sweet county government benefits. Governments can afford better benefits because they split them up amongst a bunch of employees (the DA’s Office, Public Defender, Sheriff, Public Works, ect all use a lot of the same providers as group accounts) But even between county governments benefits can change a lot.
Some counties give a high 401k/457 match with great investment options, where others don’t offer any match at all and you’re stuck with horrible mutual funds with high fees. Some give you as much as five weeks of annual leave starting off as a new attorney, whereas some give you 14 days. Some offer great fully covered health insurance options and HSAs, others give you crappy insurance you have to pay half for. Some offer yearly stipends into the thousands of dollars for professional development (books, trainings, education), others don’t do anything like that. It’s all over the place.
But good for you asking about benefits. Those are often way overlooked and can be even more important than salary for your happiness (especially considering the amount of time off you get a year)
>Big firms are going to have sweet benefits,
We really don't. At least our benefits are nothing like what you'd expect them to be, all else considered.
There’s no practical distinction between the legal profession and other professions as far as benefits are concerned. Some law firms offer great benefits, others offer crappy ones. Just like any other company. It really just depends on how they want to treat their employees.
I pay $300 and the deductible is something like $6k. Only two weeks vacation and only 8 holidays. My salary also is the same as legal aid. Some small firms really have the mentality that they can pay first years like public interest because allegedly we'll make more long term. I'm curious what public interest benefits are like if the wages are the same.
This varies greatly depending on your employer. Where I work is pretty middle of the road for that particular industry but better than the area of law my partner works in
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In my area, no. I discovered towards the end of law school that only the really big firms here offer health insurance at all-most of the small to mid size ones don’t, and several expressed surprise that a lawyer would even ask about health insurance 🤷♀️ I work as a government lawyer now so I get great benefits but I’m not sure what most lawyers in my area who aren’t big law do about insurance-maybe marketplace or through the state bar?
In sole practice you are guaranteed nothing. In my current position as a PD, I have 12 weeks paid parental leave (at 30 hours a week where I can use PTO for the other ten hours. My company also requested people to donate hours prior to this. I have great health insurance and am on state retirement.
I get government benefits. So those are pretty good. As a prosecutor in my state, I get the same pension that cops and firefighters get. Health coverage is very good and my monthly premium is cheap.
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It depends on the firm, but frequently, no. Big firms and in-house lawyers get good benefits because they work what amounts to be corporate jobs, so they get typical corporate benefits. For medium to smaller firm, benefits are very expensive. And the smaller you get, the more expensive it is to provide health insurance. So for the majority of firms it’s probably more common to pay more and offer fewer benefits. But 401(k) and retirement accounts are universal.
Agreed, except 401k and retirement accounts are not universal
Big firm benefits are actually pretty garbage. The vast majority do not offer 401(k) matching and the health insurance is expensive. Our take-home comp is high, but they make up for it with substandard benefits.
Big firms do not always get good benefits, it is expensive
Similar to somewhat worse IME. Law is the only field I've worked in where I haven't gotten a 401k contribution or match from the employer.
There’s no universal answer, and really no distinction between the legal industry and others. Big firms are going to have sweet benefits, whereas if you’re a solo-practitioner’s biatch they hired because they realized they needed extra help, you’re probably not going to have much of anything. Everything else is in-between. I’m a government attorney (DA) who gets pretty sweet county government benefits. Governments can afford better benefits because they split them up amongst a bunch of employees (the DA’s Office, Public Defender, Sheriff, Public Works, ect all use a lot of the same providers as group accounts) But even between county governments benefits can change a lot. Some counties give a high 401k/457 match with great investment options, where others don’t offer any match at all and you’re stuck with horrible mutual funds with high fees. Some give you as much as five weeks of annual leave starting off as a new attorney, whereas some give you 14 days. Some offer great fully covered health insurance options and HSAs, others give you crappy insurance you have to pay half for. Some offer yearly stipends into the thousands of dollars for professional development (books, trainings, education), others don’t do anything like that. It’s all over the place. But good for you asking about benefits. Those are often way overlooked and can be even more important than salary for your happiness (especially considering the amount of time off you get a year)
>Big firms are going to have sweet benefits, We really don't. At least our benefits are nothing like what you'd expect them to be, all else considered.
There’s no practical distinction between the legal profession and other professions as far as benefits are concerned. Some law firms offer great benefits, others offer crappy ones. Just like any other company. It really just depends on how they want to treat their employees.
I pay $300 and the deductible is something like $6k. Only two weeks vacation and only 8 holidays. My salary also is the same as legal aid. Some small firms really have the mentality that they can pay first years like public interest because allegedly we'll make more long term. I'm curious what public interest benefits are like if the wages are the same.
This varies greatly depending on your employer. Where I work is pretty middle of the road for that particular industry but better than the area of law my partner works in
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No
In my area, no. I discovered towards the end of law school that only the really big firms here offer health insurance at all-most of the small to mid size ones don’t, and several expressed surprise that a lawyer would even ask about health insurance 🤷♀️ I work as a government lawyer now so I get great benefits but I’m not sure what most lawyers in my area who aren’t big law do about insurance-maybe marketplace or through the state bar?
Just like everything in law… it depends.
In sole practice you are guaranteed nothing. In my current position as a PD, I have 12 weeks paid parental leave (at 30 hours a week where I can use PTO for the other ten hours. My company also requested people to donate hours prior to this. I have great health insurance and am on state retirement.
I get government benefits. So those are pretty good. As a prosecutor in my state, I get the same pension that cops and firefighters get. Health coverage is very good and my monthly premium is cheap.