Are Higher Associate Salaries A Death Blow For ‘Lifestyle’ Law Firms?

// Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.

Oftentimes small and midsize firms sell themselves to talent as more of a lifestyle option, and they try to recruit on the notion that they’re not Big Law.

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Associates come in believing they’re going to have to work less and not hit as high of a number of billable hours. In order for these firms to keep up, they’re going to have to increase billable hour expectations and rates.

— Kristin Stark, principal at Fairfax Associates, in comments given to the American Lawyer, on the fact that salaries at so-called “lifestyle” firms increased so much during the associate talent wars that their work-life balance perks may fade away as they become more like Biglaw in order to remain profitable. As we noted previously, according to NALP, the greatest percentage salary growth from 2021 to 2023 was seen at firms of 100 lawyers or fewer, where median first-year salaries increased by 29.2% ($35,000), from $120,000 to $155,000. At firms of 501-700 lawyers, base salaries for first-years grew by 29% ($45,000), from $155,000 to $200,000.

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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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Associate Salaries, Biglaw, Midsize Firms / Regional Firms, Money, Quote of the Day, Small Law Firms, Work-life balance