50% and Class Rank
ABA and Law School statistics show that graduating in the bottom 50% at any law school--even a T14 school--will dramatically reduce both lifetime employment prospects and lifetime earnings potential.
50% and Compensation
Speaking of earnings, The 2023 median salary for the bottom 25% of all lawyers is $94,400/yr.
But the top 25% made $209,000/yr.
Do you see the 50% spread between the earnings of the bottom 25% and top 25%?
Same degree. Same schools. Different outcomes. Bet you could you use that extra $115k per year for doing the same work?
50% and Job Happiness
Money doesn't buy happiness, but it helps. Lawyers tend to be some of the least happy people on the planet, at least when it comes to their jobs. Stress. Long hours. A lack of “fulfillment” in their work. I call it the "Intellectual Prostitute Syndrome™." (Yeah, I trademarked it).
But for those lawyers in the top 50% of earnings, happiness and job satisfaction increases. Dramatically.
And guess what? The more you beat the 50%, the more you happiness you find. So much happiness that the lawyers in the top 25% and above tend to say they wouldn't trade their jobs for anything.
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