Reports one mid-level associate, I am making more than most junior partners even at New York firms. But I ve heard that before in the past. Those hours and hours Other law firms constantly cite Wachtell as an outlier as far as hours go. An insider points out that at Wachtell, as at some other major law firms, the billing mechanism is not by the hour, so there s not pressure to get billable hours up, just to get the work done. While all Wachtell associates bill long hours, the corporate associates are the ones who really suffer.
Associates do say that they retain a great amount of control over assignments.
That makes it easier to motivate yourself. One insider estimates that the average corporate associate bills around 3,000 hours per year, though there are definitely people who bill well into the mid-3,000s.