re: How much do partners at Jones Walker or Phelps Dunbar make annually?

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Hi, I'm a 2L at Duke Law School and I'm interested in moving to New Orleans in the near future. Just like everyone else I wanted to go to some BigLaw firm in New York but everyone I know that works there tells me it's a nightmare. Would anyone know how much partners make or can make at these firms? I can't seem to find a definitive answer.

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you want to work in Louisiana and you decide to spend over $100K to go to Duke when you could have gone to LSU much cheaper and still potentially work for Jones and Phelps. Nice.

Younger brother, ex V&E partner of 17 years. Left with 5 other V&E partners, couple of paralegals, secretaries, and one of counsel and started his own firm in a niche market. He did this about 5 years ago and have added attorneys. Does work about the same amount of hours a week but his big issue was that the partners in Houston & Dallas made it rain and all V&E's far flung foreign offices didn't do much, so revenue from the two TX offices would go to other partners. Somewhat similar to your opinion #3, they all like what they do and most of the practice is in front of FERC.

First, don't move to New Orleans.

Second, I would say Jones Walker and Phelps are on par with Adams and Reese and when I worked there a few years back there was one partner making something like $820k. Some of the other equity partners were close to that. Most I would say were closer to $500k. The non-equity partners were paid probably between $250k and $350k.

For comparison, a senior associate at a big firm in Houston or Dallas will make over $250k in base salary alone, and potentially over $350k after bonus. Multiple partners at big law firms in Houston and Dallas make multiple millions of dollars a year.

With your debt load, unless you're a dumbass with shite shite shite grades, you should be looking at bigger markets. Most big firms in the Houston and Dallas areas would trip over themselves for a Duke law grad. Particularly a moderately competent one.

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All that I know is that Charles Landry (prominent zoning attorney in BR, formerly of JW) drives a Mazerati. Extrapolate from that what you will.

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I used to wait in Charles Landry regularly. One night, he brought in 2 bottles of wine and drank half of each, giving me the other half. When he left, he told me to enjoy them because he paid $2000/bottle for them. I thought he was full of shite. I googled them and the cheapest I could find them online were $1800 and $2200 so he was right on the money. I have no idea what kind of wine they were but I drank both before I left work that night.

100% true story.

Do yall have some rivalry or something

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Some people want career to be life. I know those people. Some are good people, some are awful people. But they work incredibly hard and get rewarded handsomely for it. Often, their "real" lives end up suffering, but not always. Not surprisingly, some really smart, really talented people are able to pull off both a very busy and difficult career while also not entirely neglecting their home life. But it's hard.

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Used to work for a guy like that. I would get emails at 3:30 am because he was an insomniac. I don't understand how people can function like that.

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everyone I know that works there tells me it's a nightmare.

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partners at Jones Walker or Phelps Dunbar 

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Have you talked to any of them? Did any of them say it's not a nightmare?

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The only type of law I would recommend to anyone is patents/IP if you can make it there.

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The area of law where you have to look up what a word meant in your 2002 Webster dictionary to defend a patent filed in that year.

Yes, you'll always have a job but man, sounds awful.

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Nah I just break Jim’s balls because he’s an ins defense attorney

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Dick