Associate Salaries: We Think We'll Keep Them

Law firm fact: at the beginning of this century, law firm associates, then known as "clerks" or "juniors," served as apprentices for several years during which time they were paid nothing.
 

Before going any further, associates reading this column should take a moment to clean up the coffee they may have spit out while reading the previous paragraph. Partners should stop considering the possibility of reinstating this policy. That was a long time ago and most of today's associates would be less than receptive to the idea of working at any law firm for free.
 
Although not feasible in the modern legal market, the concept of associates working without pay does raise interesting questions. For instance, how did recent law school graduates in those days provide for the basic necessities of food, shelter, pin-striped clothing and student loan payments?
 
One also wonders what law students back then had to talk about if there were no law firm salaries to compare. Today, many choose the law as a career because they want to make the world a better place. They enter law school intent on the idea that, upon graduation, they will go to work for legal aid, a public interest group or the government. Upon learning how much money law firms pay their associates, however, these same students quickly come to realize that their own personal worlds would be a whole lot better if they went to work at a firm.
 
There is one more question that comes to mind when thinking about law firm life without salaries. What would partners say to associates to make them feel guilty, ashamed and embarrassed for their substandard performance? For example, one popular partner line that would be lost is: "Why do we pay you so much money when you can't ... (fill in the blank to describe whatever the associate fouled up)." This and other similar expressions would lose their sting. The associate could simply respond by saying: "I'm just a volunteer here" or "you don't pay me enough to know how to . . ."
 
Come to think of it, working for free might not be so bad. Some of the other advantages that would come from reviving the old law firm policy on associate salaries are described below.
 

• After being away at college and law school for so long, you will have the opportunity to rebuild your relationship with the folks (because you'll have to move back in with them). 
• When being fired, associates wouldn't have to restrain themselves in order to protect their severance pay and references for new jobs. When the ax falls, the associate would feel free to say: "You can't fire me, I quit." In addition to the personal satisfaction this would bring, it also obviates the need to lie when asked about the circumstances surrounding your departure from the firm. 
• Everyone else at the firm would be making more money than you. This isn't as bad as it sounds. One advantage is that you can reverse rolls with your secretary and call her a cheapskate when she doesn't pay for your lunch or buy you an expensive present for your birthday. 
• You would still have those old friends from the days when you really did want to work for Greenpeace but who abandoned you when you started representing toxic polluters at the firm. 
• Forcing associates to work without a salary is the only way to ensure that lawyers do their share of pro bono work. 
• The inevitable would be hastened and you would default on your student loans immediately. This will avoid years of worrying about defaulting on your student loans. 
• There would also be no more worrying about meeting billable hour goals in order to ensure associate profitability. Associates would become profitable starting with the first hour they bill for the firm. 
• Instead of being a devastating blow to one's livelihood, disbarment and termination would mean a financial boom. 
• It would be far easier to compile the necessary data for associate salary surveys.

Even with all these advantages and even though most associates work so hard, they don't have time to spend the money they earn, we still like being paid for our work. As discussed above, associate salaries foster social interaction at law schools, among lawyers from different firms and between associates and partners. Salaries also give some meaning to what we do for a living. The higher the salary, the more the meaning.

See the following articles for more information:
 

• How Much Does It Pay?
• Lawyers and Money
• 2015 Summer Associate Salaries of Top Law Firms
• Top 7 Tips for Succeeding as a First Year Associate: How to Succeed as a New Associate in a Law Firm