Financial Independence From a Biglaw Income

Many Biglaw associates I encounter are unhappy with their career. Most days are spent gloomily sitting at their desks, griping about the pressure of producing at their law firm, miserable at the constant demands of their managing partners/clients, and weary from being browbeaten by their spouses about their long hours.

The common theme is that unlike many professions, where one effectively has a shift and punches a clock, lawyers in private practice have no natural boundaries to their work hours. The result is an unbalanced life, and lawyers sacrifice their dreams of earlier years, such as altruistic pursuits or writing novels.

A delusional fallacy sprouts its roots:?

Happiness is just around the corner—work harder.?

Happiness is just around the corner—earn more money.?

Happiness is just around the corner—buy more things.?

Happiness is just around the corner—keep going.

And so it goes, the attorney perpetually traverses around the Biglaw career merry-go-round.

Why do so many associates feel stuck on the proverbial Biglaw treadmill??

The financial services industry is largely at fault. The customarily prescribed 10-20% savings rate—touted by financial advisors as an admirable standard—keeps attorneys addicted to living off 80-90% of a Biglaw income.?

The issue compounds as each automatic pay scale increase occurs and, naturally, spending habits increase congruently. Suddenly, the senior associate finds themself with a million dollar McMansion, a European-made car (or two) in the garage, a closet full of designer goods, and no way out.

Those ‘golden handcuffs’ are securely winched, even after obediently following their financial advisor’s advice. It turns out that seemingly prudent counsel results in perpetually needing that Biglaw income quite badly.

Traditional financial advice will keep you trapped in Biglaw.?

But, the good news is the solution to Biglaw freedom and happiness is quite simple: to put yourself in a position where you never rely on your Biglaw paychecks.

Granted, it’s simple in theory, but oftentimes difficult in practice. The key is to realize that possessions are a mirage of success and happiness and, instead, a more appropriate measure is?freedom to control your time. In other words, your financial decisions should be leading you down a path to independence from your Biglaw income; not a reliance on it.

At this point, you may be questioning where you currently stand in context to your freedom to securely exit the Biglaw “rat race”. Whatever you may conclude, I imagine your assumption is based on a hunch instead of concrete analysis.

So, I implore you to ask yourself this question—will you continue to let a hunch decide your fate, or is it high-time to devise a tangible plan?

As Benjamin Franklin aptly stated, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”

Circumstances can change and change is within your power; what changes can you make to get closer to the financial goal that would free you from the golden handcuffs of a Biglaw job?

Perhaps you are closer to the goal than you think, with only another few months or years to go on the job. Knowing your goal when you are slaving away in the office on the third consecutive Saturday may instill in you a renewed purpose and alleviate the feeling of being trapped.

Imagine the relief of confidently setting boundaries knowing that your managing partner needs you more than you need them. Having your debt paid off and ample savings fosters the fearlessness to say “no” to an assignment due the day before your best friend’s wedding, to actually book a vacation and not stress about work when you’re on it, and to not worry if you say something dumb.?

Don’t fool yourself that savings are for the future and entirely underestimate the incredible, life-changing impact that savings will have on your life and on your Biglaw career, right now.

Why Biglaw Income Allocation? is the Key to Building Wealth.

Here’s what I can tell you for sure—the most effective solution to achieving your best life, now and beyond Biglaw, is a framework I innovated called “Biglaw Income Allocation”.?

It’s a new and different way to more effectively convert your Biglaw income into wealth.

After working with nearly 200 attorneys, I’ve discovered that there’s two phases to the aforementioned framework.

Phase 1 is leveraging a Biglaw income and creating structure for systematically crushing debt and building wealth.

With this proven structure intact, you’ll be able to confidently answer questions like the following:

- How do I pay down debt faster?

- How much cash should I keep in my savings account?

- How do I properly structure spending/savings/retirement/investments?

- How can I passively increase my personal wealth?

- How do I reduce my tax bill each year?

Phase 2 is deliberately designing your Biglaw exit strategy to minimize risk.

Risk is minimized by definitively answering these other pressing questions:

- How much house can I afford?

- How soon can I comfortably exit Biglaw?

- Can I take a pay cut without drastically changing my lifestyle?

Here’s the best part—completing these two phases is instructive whether your aspiration is to exit Biglaw ASAP or in the next decade or two.?

Biglaw Income Allocation? is so effective because the deliverable is a tangible map providing direction for how you should allocate your resources to fast track your independence from a Biglaw income.

And that’s just it—the “missing link” for most Biglaw associates is lacking this map clearly illustrating how to get from your current situation to where you want to be. No one can deny that having a map promotes more efficient travel and increased confidence. What makes your financial destination any different?

If you’re like most attorneys I speak to, your work is so constant and pervasive in your life, capturing your mind so fully, that it distracts from creating a proper structure and money inevitably becomes fractured across a variety of things. The result is slow-motion progress toward your financial goals.

Instead, using Biglaw Income Allocation? allows you to more effectively pay off debt and build wealth by proactively telling your money “where to go” instead of reactively asking “where it went”.

And here’s what else makes this so great—it’s easy and fast to implement.

All it takes to get the ball rolling is a copy of your pay stub and a compilation of your monthly “fixed” expenses (i.e. rent/housing payment, student loan payment, car payment, etc.).

Then, it’s simply a matter of applying the various proven frameworks of Biglaw Income Allocation? to your situation and ironing out the needed structure and direction that will act as the catalyst for predictably achieving your financial goals—the system is the solution.

James Clear says it best, “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

Be honest—how confident are you in your current system??

If you’re open to the idea of learning more about implementing Biglaw Income Allocation?—a system designed specifically for Biglaw associates such as yourself—the next step is simple:

Use this link to schedule a 15-minute introductory call to further explore whether it’s even a good fit for you: https://calendly.com/tacticalwealthpartners/15min

Grab a free copy of my e-book here: https://biglaw.tacticalwealthpartners.com/biglawfreedom

To your freedom,

Terry Andersen, CFP?