As you already know, civil rights attorneys are generally not the people making the big bucks in law. At least not the younger civil rights attorneys just starting out in their careers.
Being able to live off the salary of a civil rights attorney is difficult enough without having to factor in student loan payments. For tips on living on a budget as a civil rights attorney, click here.
But what if after you budget it all, your salary is still not enough to make ends meet? Sounds like it’s time for a salary negotiation.
Unlike other professions, the legal profession does not typically have much salary negotiation at the start of a person’s legal career.
BigLaw offers set salaries and benefits based on years in practice (bonuses are meant to account for who is performing better or worse), government positions have set salaries and benefits, and fellowships have set salaries and benefits.
Non-profits typically offer narrow salary ranges for a specific position, and they are likely to choose your salary based on your experience. That said, anytime there is a range, there is some room for negotiation.
As far as private civil rights firms go, there is more flexibility. However, my experience has been that most civil rights firms in Denver offer a starting salary between $50,000 and $60,000. Some offer the potential for bonuses (some with more potential than others), some offer the potential for referral fees for cases you bring in, and some offer both.
As a new attorney, the likelihood that you will be receiving many referrals is low. So for you, the big issue is going to be reconciling your base salary with what you need to survive, as you should never count on bonuses.
At the same time, there are many people vying for the exact job you want. So how can you negotiate your salary without negotiating yourself out of a potential position?
First, wait until you have a job offer. Don’t negotiate during the interview process. Once you have a job offer, the firm is more committed to you as a future member of the team.
Now comes the time to negotiate.
Negotiating Your Salary
First, if you can show your future employer the budgeting you have done and make it clear that the numbers simply do not work out, that may go a long way to showing that you actually need a higher salary to subsist.
Now, if that’s the case, I wouldn’t be trying to account for $1200 in credit card payments per month so you can eat out three times a week and grab cocktails with dinner. I would show that you can barely subsist when factoring in your more permanent, larger costs: rent & utilities, car costs (payments and insurance), and loan payments. If those three add up to $2,800 per month and your post-tax paychecks would add up to $3,300 per month, how are you meant to reconcile the two?
Yes, you can make those payments, but you also need to pay for things like groceries, gas, and basic enjoyments in life like having dinner out here and there or going on a trip to see family once a year. And you also need to save money to ensure you have a safety net for emergencies.
You might be wondering: well, won’t they just give the job to someone whose life costs less money? Or who has parents who paid off their loans or who are paying their rent?
That’s where it’s important you bring up the fact that you’re supporting yourself, and that unlike a lot of fellow students you knew in law school, your parents aren’t paying for your life expenses. Let alone making your loan payments.
Now let’s say your employer still won’t budge. If they increase your salary, they need to do the same for your counterparts. So it’s a hard no. What do you do next?
Negotiating Your Benefits
Next step: see if you can negotiate benefits. Perhaps you can use the firm card for food and drinks if you make it into a networking lunch or dinner. Or maybe the firm can reimburse you for gas and mileage/ride shares commuting to and from work. Maybe they can pay for your parking by the office, or cover moving expenses.
Perhaps see if the firm will offer to help with your student loan payments. Maybe you can propose a match where any payment amounts you make over the monthly minimum are matched by the firm (with a cap, of course). That way the firm is showing its commitment to helping you pay down your debt in exchange for your sticking it out in civil rights instead of accepting a higher-paying job elsewhere.
I once had a friend negotiate health insurance into a one-year fellowship he had received by simply being honest and explaining that given his prior battles with cancer, it was not possible for him to accept any job that did not offer health insurance.
At the end of the day, you need to figure out what you truly need, articulate it, and see if you can collaboratively come up with a way to make it work.