Re: Starting hourly pay?

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On 3/14/06, Kristi wrote:
> My question to the more positive members of this group ---
> (i.e., those not going into investment banking at the first
> opportunity or lamenting his decision to go to law school).
>
> I may be working for a solo practioner in the
> bankruptcy/probate admin./estate planning field in a
> relatively small town (~70,000).
>
> What is a realistic hourly rate for a part-time attorney?
> What about part-time independent contract work? I'm not
> totally new (lots of research & writing experience, but no
> client experience and new to these fields). I'm thinking
> $25-$35 for the contract rate, but not sure about p/t
> employment rate.
>
> Thanks in Advance for any advice!
I guess it depends on what part of the country your small
city is in. The area I practice is very economically
depressed and consequently pay rates are much lower than
those in areas that are more affluent. Does the part time
carry any benefits? What exactly is the IC work? If you're
doing it as an attorney I would think that it should be
close to the going hourly rate of the local attorneys. The
solo may not be able to pay that though and so if you really
want the work you may have to decide to opt for less than
you're really worth. I think $25-$35 (is that hourly for
attorney work) on the one hand sounds pretty cheap, but
that's where many new attorneys start out in a firm aorund
here. So actually that's pretty reasonable.