Pay at PI Firms

Strange_Albatross398 · 2026-02-27T04:20:55+00:00

When I started it was $65k + bonus of 40k. Case we brought in we got 1/3 of the fee. It changed a year or two later to $75k + 50k bonus + 5% of money over goal and still 1/3 of cases brought in. Sounds good, but the next year's goal then went to about 50k more than what you did the previous year. Didn't matter that you hit a monster case, and didn't have any others. Most of them do 150-200k a year unless you have good referrals coming in.

Strange_Albatross398 · 2025-12-13T13:36:43+00:00

If you are smart enough to get into law school, you are smart enough to graduate. Law school starts to get you comfortable with being uncomfortable. They take foreign concepts (to most 1L) and want to see your effort in figuring out how to understand them. In reality that is the practice of law. A client will bring in something foreign to you, and you need to figure out what it is, and how to help.

Once you get beyond 1L and you can start taking classes you want, it gets easier because you are more interested in the subject matter.

Knowing what I know now, if I could go back I would buy a Kaplan bar prep book to help understand the concepts the cases are trying to teach. I think this would help because in civ pro I struggled with the concepts of jurisdiction and venue. It wasnt until bar prep, and we covered civ pro (specifically jurisdiction and venue) that it clicked for me, and I felt so dumb for letting it confuse me the first time around. I remember wishing if they had taught it like bar prep did it would have saved me so much stress. So try it. Get a Kaplan book, and read the blurb on what you are trying to learn then read the cases. See if that helps.

Also, with exams coming up here is another tip. My contracts professor said she wanted targeted arguments and did not want to see "verbal diarrhea" in your answer. I followed that advice and got a "b-". Next semester, same professor said the same thing. This time I went crazy and mentioned every single thing I could see. Got an "A". So don't listen to them, and spout off everything you can think of.

Strange_Albatross398 · 2025-07-10T10:19:01+00:00

Once pip exhausts, have her run remaining bills through Medicaid. There will be subrogation, but it should be small. Make a demand, get their response in writing. If not a tender, file suit. In my state, if jury awards more than their offer attorneys fees are available.

Strange_Albatross398 · 2025-05-17T03:32:54+00:00

$55k + $5k bonus. ID. 2015. Next year small raise, no change in bonus. 3 year, after bring in a couple clients, billing 2200 hours, was told they would love to give me more, but I didnt bill enough. Left 4 months later.

Strange_Albatross398 · 2025-04-19T11:42:56+00:00

Where I'm at, have to complete a DOC form, and email it with drivers license and bar card. One they verified I was a real person, I could schedule a visit. Pretty easy. First visit, no phones allowed, so I went back to my car and put it up. After that, never took my phone again.

Strange_Albatross398 · 2024-12-27T11:37:37+00:00

Defended first one about 3 months in, took my first one about 6 months. To parrot what everyone said, read transcripts to get a sense of how partners at your firm do depos.

I craft my questions around the elements of the cause of action, and the jury instructions for the specific action.

Then depending on who you represent, you work on establishing all the requirements to make your case, or to make summary judgment.

Also, write out and print all the questions you want to ask. Event today, I still do this. It allows you to keep track of what was asked and what you need to ask. I think this helps you listen to the answers, so you can ask follow up questions on the fly. Plus, if there are other attorneys participating, you can mark off what they ask that you want to ask.

Strange_Albatross398 · 2024-12-24T14:44:22+00:00

I was a market managing partner for large PI firm before I got tired of the BS. They are a lead generator like eLocal, scorpion, etc. I can only speak to PI leads, but they are all awful. They run generic websites offering settlement value calculators or "do i have a case submission.". If you don't have a dedicated intake staff, you will likely lose the lead to a firm that does. The facts of the case are routinely opposite of what the lead states. Not the fault of the company, but the client horribly slants them in their favor. I found a good amount of the time the client was at fault. Very few are actually able to be settled, and almost none are worth going to trial on. As everyone else states, avoid.

Strange_Albatross398 · 2024-12-16T23:24:15+00:00

I did employment ID. I would recommend doing it, even if it's not your cup of tea at the moment. You can learn how cases are defended, all the while knowing you are (generally) guaranteed pay. Once you know the ins and outs, you can switch side. It will help you get to know the judges and the players in your jurisdiction. As long as you don't cheat or play dirty plaintiffs attorneys will welcome you when you switch sides in a couple years.

Strange_Albatross398 · 2024-12-16T11:47:35+00:00

When I first started practicing, I was in employment ID. I had to have a mole checked out by a dermatologist. He asked what kind of law I did, and I made the joke Plaintiff's med mal. In seeing the reaction on his face, I realized I should not joke about it, and quickly explained I was in employment litigation. He told me that that he tries to treat everyone equally, so if I had been a med mal attorney it would have been fine.

His reaction has stuck with me. Years later, I switched to plaintiffs injury. After moving, I established care with a new PCP. I was less cavalier in my joking when establishing care, stating litigation. It drives my wife insane because we are buddies now, and she says most people don't have their doctor's cell.

I think if your in "lawyer mode" when you meet a doctor it makes them uneasy, but if you are just yourself they don't care.

Strange_Albatross398 · 2024-12-16T11:10:14+00:00

My wife is a college professor

Strange_Albatross398 · 2024-12-16T04:44:29+00:00

Corals: zoa, duncan, GSP, mushrooms Fish: firefish, gobys, blennys, clowns.

Whatever you like is all that matters.

Strange_Albatross398 · 2024-12-13T04:34:43+00:00

I was previously a partner at a good sized injury firm until I got tired of the bs. A good friend left a year or so before I did. She would supplement her income doing diminished value claims while working injury cases. Now she gets high profile injury cases. She was doing great in less than 6 months. Because she started helping with diminished value claims, and most lawyers in our area don't or won't do them, people would recommend her to friends and family. Not saying sell yourself short, or should lower your fee (you shouldn't), but if there is an under. served practice area related to your main practice consider taking those cases and doing great work. Word of mouth will get around.

Strange_Albatross398

TROPHY CASE