re: Life as a Lawyer Advice Needed

I'm a law firm owner with about 21 employees. I say that to help provide context for the answers to your questions.

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She is a hard worker and an overachiever so I know she will graduate near the top of any class she attends.

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Everyone in law school is a hard worker and an overachiever. Being at the top of your class in college does not equate to being at the top of your class in law school. If she goes to a top-tier law school, she'll be running a race with a whole class of track champions. Was her LSAT >160?

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1. What is the job market like for lawyers in Louisiana for a kid with good grades but no contacts.

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Not great for anyone who doesn't graduate at the top of their class.

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2. What is life like for a professional living and working in Louisiana? Lawyers do ok money wise but nothing like doctors and they usually start at 60-70k a year. Is it pleasant to live in LA on 65k a year??

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I would tell her to go to a bigger school if she wants to live somewhere other than Louisiana. But to answer your question, 60k a year is not a lot of money, but for a 20-something right out of school, it is fine.

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3. I don’t know enough to really ask the right questions so if you have any other insight that would be helpful please give it.

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Where she clerks while in school is of the utmost importance. Does she want to work in a big elevator law firm on the 40th floor somewhere? Does she want to open her own firm one day? Does she want to litigate? Does she prefer transactional work? Does she have a charming personality such that she would be able to generate her own work? All of these are things she needs to be considering.

Successful PI lawyers and successful criminal lawyers make the most money in Louisiana in small firms. Partners at the largest firms can make what PI lawyers make, but it takes them 15 years or so to get there.

If money is all she's after, she needs to consider that when it comes to what firms she clerks at. She'll make way less money clerking for a firm like mine (I pay $15 an hour, whereas the big firms pay closer to $30 or even $45 out of state), but I start my lawyers at $120k per year, and my highest-paid lawyers make seven figures a year.

Long story short, she needs a road map to what she wants, and pick firms to clerk at that will get her there. Too many students pick the highest paying clerking jobs, then don't have the resume that fits the job they really want. Short-sighted all the way around.

There are three types of lawyers and only three types:

1. Finders. These are the rain-makers. They can generate work, don't eat with their feet, can play golf, tell good jokes, play cards, and are just as at home at Ruth's Chris or the country club as they are in the courtroom. These are your highest-earning lawyers. Finders make up about 10% of the lawyers.

2. Minders. These are the lawyer who have good people skills but aren't the country club and Ruth's Chris schoozers. They may not have the in-person charm or, frankly, the charisma to hold court at a white-linen dinner with clients. BUT, they can talk on the phone with clients and ask clients how their kid's t-ball game went. Successful minders are the folks who make notes in their CRM about the clients to ask them about later, like vacations, hobbies, etc. In other words, they can "mind" the clients once they are originated and brought into the firm. These are the lawyers the partners trust calling and emailing clients, but they aren't going to get the day off to go golfing or invited to long Friday lunches at Ruth's Chris. They are the middle-of-the-road earners. Minders make up about 40% of the lawyers.

3. Grinders. These are the lawyers who get stuck in 10x10 offices for life. They are the workhorses of a law firm. They draft pleadings, attend depositions of non-clients, do legal research, and write legal memos for the Finders and Minders in the firm. They are the lowest rung of earners because they are the most easily replaced. Grinders make up about 50% of the lawyers.

Is your daughter a finder, minder, or grinder? That will answer a lot of your questions about what kind of earner she will be. If she's a grinder, she needs to pick a niche line of work to be a decent earner... something like intellectual property, maritime defense, or the like.

The worst earners are the grinders who try to open their own firm. They ultimately fail and end up going back to another firm to do some grinding for a finder or minder.

Ponder these things, and good luck to her!