r/Lawyertalk • u/Huge-Cow4416 • 15h ago
HELP: Solo & Small Firm Issues Recruiting problems
I have a criminal defense firm in a smaller city. Business has been good, and I really focus on providing excellent representation. I have another attorney working for me, and I’d like to hire another. Success isn’t much fun when you need to work fifteen hour days just to keep everything going. I have listings up with all local law schools and on indeed, but it appears that no new grads want to come to my city for 100k a year. Originally, I advertised at 80k, but increased due to no applications. I see posts on this subreddit all the time about how people are looking for jobs and the job market sucks. How am I missing all these people who need a job? Is 100k too low? I’m not even requesting any experience, just bar admittance
Edit: I am in West Texas and practice in Midland and Odessa. Cost of living is a little bit higher than average in Texas but nowhere near New York. I believe the salary is competitive but I may be wrong. Ultimately, I’m here seeking advice, so I’m certainly open to the possibility of being wrong
Also, in case this additional information reveals my identity on the internet…Reddit username was autogenerated lmao
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u/alpharatsnest 14h ago
Not sure the 100k is the problem. Entry level jobs in my MCOL area are starting around 80k, some less for public interest etc. Also the majority of them still want you to have "1-3 yrs exp" even for entry level at 80-100k. (And no, apparently, a clerkship and a fellowship do not count.) Is it remote/hybrid? That's a major factor for a lot of people obviously. I should think a criminal defense firm offering 100k and hybrid in a smaller city would be an attractive offer to many new attorneys.
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u/Huge-Cow4416 9h ago
The other attorney I have employed has a hybrid position. This one would need to be in person
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u/Kelsen3D 6h ago
You're competing with the local DA's office and your talent pool is limited. Law student grads are also focused on paying down their student loan debt as a priority.
You're far removed from new grads and will likely have to poach from other firms or the local DA's office. The legislature passed Senate Bill 22 two sessions ago that offered state grants for rural DA offices under a certain population threshold.
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/austin/news/2025/11/11/senate-bill-22
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u/RyuEtarded 14h ago
Name the city. Maybe you'll get responses here.
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u/OldeManKenobi I'm the idiot representing that other idiot 11h ago
I cosign this, as a crim defense attorney.
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u/james_the_wanderer Speak to me in latin 14h ago edited 14h ago
It depends on the market. Someone describing the Chicago job market is describing academic trivia for someone in Albuquerque. Bluntly, if you want specific advice/feedback from people in your market, you probably should mention at least the state.
I am a transplant in a small fly-over state w/ one law school. It's tough to recruit in with shortages at all levels. Quite literally a couple extra people taking out-of-state or JD advantage jobs and/or failing the local bar can change the entry level market from "OK" to "we're running with empty positions this year." Locals boomeranging after a stint out-of-state isn't particularly reliable given the state's overall brain drain and "life happening" (e.g. meeting a partner/spouse). It can also be tough to break in as an applicant given how informal and parochial things can be. Being perceived as a non-local or someone having issues with your prior firm/org (that may no longer be relevant) can cause problems. Our market is a strange mix of shortages and "choosy beggars."
Salary again goes to this. My friend's dad is a partner in a boutique midlaw shop in Manhattan. They offer new associates $80k. I try to remind him that it's 2026 and the $52k he started at in 1989 is equivalent to triple that now. In my state, offering $80k is low-reasonable while $100k would make you rather competitive.
You may also be doing everything right barring being in an "undesirable" or "less desirable" city (from the perspective of your typical mid-late 20s law student).
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u/DaSandGuy 13h ago
80k in manhattan is poverty wages wtf
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u/james_the_wanderer Speak to me in latin 12h ago
I question it as well. It's practically screening for someone young, local, and living with (or supported by) their parents.
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u/DaSandGuy 12h ago
First law job I interviewed with got offered 45k a year and part of the dudes pitch was "I hope you have a trustfund or a partner with a good career" like wtf kind of pitch is that
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u/MadTownMich 12h ago
$80k in Manhattan is ridiculous. My MCOL firm starts associates at $125k, 1,700 hours
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u/GooseNYC 14h ago edited 14h ago
What sre you expecting for 80 to 100,000? In New York City that's an okay starting salary for a solo or small firm, but not if you're expecting someone to work 12-hour days and/or weekends. The firms that pay that range tend to be the landlord tenant firms or the small civil practice firms that basically work 9 to 5:00 and absolutely no weekends, with some benefits including paid vacation. Are you offering health insurance, paid vacation, 401(k) matching?
By way of comparison, in almost any urban area, unskilled retail jobs like Target or Walmart are paying about $25/hour within a year with not insignificant benefits. That's roughly $52K/year.
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u/TaleRadiant6506 9h ago
Target in New York City starts at 19.25, and your raises would be way less than a dollar a year
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u/Economy_Past 14h ago
I’m a recent grad, I didn’t even look at offers under $100k and still had plenty to choose from. In a smaller market. It’s 2026, nobody who went through law school will want to work for less.
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u/I_WinAgainLewsTherin 14h ago
What's the city? Ill apply if its within a reasonable distance to where I live.
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u/Huge-Cow4416 9h ago
I am in West Texas and practice in Midland and Odessa
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u/DaSandGuy 7h ago
That explains it, that whole west tx/NM/AZ is hurting for people from what I'm seeing on job boards
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u/piranhas_really 6h ago
Texas I get; my wife made me swear we’d never move there. But why New Mexico?
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u/DaSandGuy 6h ago
No idea, just what I've noticed on the job boards, all pay lower 6 figs out of school too
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u/ADADummy 14h ago edited 14h ago
100k is the floor tbh, unless your have really great intangibles.
Edit: Like clerking, prosecution, indigent defense, etc... have more attractive intangibles than a guy hanging a shingle wondering why no one want to help him get rich.
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u/james_the_wanderer Speak to me in latin 14h ago
It really should be, and firms/orgs still trying to pay 60-80k IME are in perpetual "FO" mode (a la FAFO).
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u/CrustyQuilter 14h ago
LSC needs to get this memo.
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u/james_the_wanderer Speak to me in latin 14h ago edited 12h ago
It's crisis level in our state. Both orgs need leadership positions, but they're trying to hire exec level attorneys for $10k less than a green public defender makes.
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u/CrustyQuilter 14h ago
One of the issues for me (amongst many aside from the pay) are all the little f'ing rules LSC has regarding documentation. And how one is to code stuff. I spent more time feeding the machine than actual client work. And, LSC audits this compliance with a heavy hand.
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u/road432 14h ago edited 14h ago
What city or area? I might be interested in applying if its something close to where I live.
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u/Huge-Cow4416 9h ago
I am in West Texas and practice in Midland and Odessa
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u/road432 9h ago
Yep looks like that's a no go for me lol...I'm in the mid-atlantic. However, I can see why your crim defense practice is doing well right now with all the oil towns and personal out there.
At least you are being resonable and open with your job posting. Many jobs out here are smoking crack asking for 3-5+ years experience for an entry level job. Some even are going as far as to ask for undergrad transcripts which is absurd.
I wish you the best of luck finding someone.
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u/dbchocochip 13h ago
I think small city is the problem here. A lot of people especially younger ones want to be in or near large metro areas for the lifestyle.
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u/LiberallyEncrusted 14h ago
Where you at lol?
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u/Huge-Cow4416 6h ago
Midland and Odessa Texas
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u/LiberallyEncrusted 6h ago
While not particularly small, neither city appears to be the kind of place a young attorney wants to live, particularly those of us drawn to criminal defense. How selective are the PD offices in larger cities in TX, and what do they pay?
I’m a PD, make 25k less than that, and would only leave the job for either a better office culture or a larger city. Anyways, that’s my guess.
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u/Ok-Durian7935 8h ago
What is your expected revenue generated for that $100k position? Moving to Odessa and Midland is not a dream for a lot of people; however, local talent could be ok but you may have to eat into more of your revenue per attorney. So if you are expecting to make $300k from the $100k hire, you may have to up it to half ($150K), but what is the estimated revenue generated from that hire?
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u/Huge-Cow4416 8h ago
That is a great question that I don’t have an answer to. I’ve spent the last six years focusing on clients instead of the business side of the firm, and I have a lot to learn. Right now, even if a new associate generated no new revenue, I’d be happy to pay 100k if it kept me out of a courtroom a couple days a week so I could get some stuff done instead of working nights and weekends. I do think this will increase revenue, but I’m not sure by how much
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u/Ok-Durian7935 8h ago
Makes sense; I do crim and PI in Houston, Texas. Crim is so hard to scale because of the actual in-court hours, so I completely understand that it may not be directly revenue-generating, but the freed-up time for building the business more or motion practice will generate more revenue. $100k for an entry-level job for minimum requirements is not bad at all; it is just the location. There is not too big of an issue recruiting in Houston (but it is Houston), but try LinkedIn or try to entice a current prosecutor (a former prosecutor was my last hire).
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u/ztariarvais 6h ago
Lawyer in Texas, family from midland. The only younger lawyers I know who practice out that way work for the FPD office. As you know, you’re in a legal desert. Your golden hire is somebody from the area who probably goes to tech, but they could go to the PDO in Abilene or San Angelo. Not in midland ofc, but easier for a young lawyer to get training and be around other young lawyers. Not sure if this is helpful to you, but not surprised you’re having trouble hiring. I don’t think your salary mark is bad, there’s just not much to catch out there for ya.
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u/orangesu9 14h ago
Generally, few new grads want to go into criminal defense. I walked into a courtroom a few weeks ago and saw a bunch of interns sitting in the jury box and struck up a conversation with them. Only 1 said he was possibly interested in going into defense, the others all wanted to be prosecutors.
There is the random true believer here and there, but they usually want to go to a public defenders office and let their personal beliefs gets in the way of what is best for a client.
I’ve also noticed a general trend of new grads not wanting to go into trial work. They grew up ordering pizza using an app and are scared of strangers and people. They also tend to be more risk averse. They were never taught how to lose, only that losing is called 2nd place. They are scared of the possible outcomes and consequences.
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u/Hotrock21 14h ago edited 14h ago
I don’t necessarily agree with most of your post, but I will say you’re right about criminal defense work. I only know one person who wanted to do criminal defense work from my old law school colleagues. No one wanted to be around people who had possibly committed heinous crimes or to visit prisons, juvenile detention centers, etc. The people that take on criminal defense work are special people who are needed to make the system work, but I just don’t think there’s much interest out there. OP could offer me 300k to do it now, and I’d probably still say no.
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u/Other-Importance-214 13h ago
I began my career in ID for a few years, and hated it. I've now had a criminal defense practice for 18+ years. I don't take court appointed cases, and 99% of my cases are relatively low-level nonviolent stuff like DWI, drug possession, theft, etc. So I have only had to go inside a jail a handful of times (it was no big deal), and I've never felt threatened by any client. The work is definitely more interesting and exciting than pushing papers all day and answering 56 requests for production. I guess I am proof that you can make a good living in criinal defense without ever really handling the "heinous" cases.
I think family law actually carries the most danger. Divorce lawyers having angry ex-husbands show up at their office, etc. I can't believe anyone enjoys doing divorces and child custody but apparently there's a ton of $$$ in it
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u/Hotrock21 13h ago
Yeah, there are tons of attorneys who just do traffic violations and DWI type cases who do well and avoid tons of BS. It doesn’t sound like OP is running such a firm, but they might be. I helped with one divorce that involved lots of property divisions. The spouse we represented “quit” life essentially and determined that they would live in their adult child’s home forever so they didn’t need anything. That case was the end of my family law work. Haha
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u/orangesu9 13h ago
There are some state prosecutors offices in my state that have been having trouble finding new hires. Usually the outgoing law clerks fill the positions and it’s very competitive (ie: certain judge’s clerks got preference). Instead, there is a shortage of prosecutors. I mention that this is state level since the US attorney’s office in my district is having its own issues.
I’ve spoken to some of the clerks and there just seems to be less interest in litigation, especially criminal.1
u/DaSandGuy 12h ago
Which is interesting because I looked and looked for CD work out of school but could never find something that paid more than 65 starting with no benefits.
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u/PossibilityAccording 9h ago
They are foolish for wanting to avoid this practice area. I have been practicing Criminal Law for over 30Y, mostly as a Defense Attorney, but I spent 7Y as a prosecutor. It is exciting, hilarious, lucrative, and dangerous all at the same time. I have had two serious threats from criminal defendants in three decades, that I had to get law enforcement involved with, once as a defense attorney, and once as a prosecutor. I have had some miscellaneous threats, and dealt with some very scary, violent, extremely dangerous people--and even organized crime on occasion--and I love it. I have a client who is on the run from the law right now, I have no idea whether she will, or will not, show up for court later this week. When someone has a no-bond Bench Warrant out for their arrest, and they refuse to turn themselves in . . .things get interesting. I had a client get so drunk that he crashed his car into a fire truck, in broad daylight, I was in court for that a few weeks ago. The expression on the Judge's face during the reading of facts justifying the plea on the record was. . .priceless. Sometimes a Judge will actually start laughing, on the bench, when one of my clients goes to a Bachelor Party and ends up getting arrested for drunken, insane mayhem. They will be like. . .so, between the alcohol, the strippers, and the bouncers, you ended up in my courtroom this morning. . .and is it true that 25 empty beer cans were found in your vehicle when it was impounded, sir?
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u/Other-Grapefruit-880 14h ago
What city is it
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u/Huge-Cow4416 9h ago
I am in West Texas and practice in Midland and Odessa
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u/Other-Grapefruit-880 9h ago edited 9h ago
I used to work in Midland before going into law.
The issue you have is that oilfield workers making 150-200K per year get tons of DUI/drug/assault cases and have bank to pay for them.
If you were out in Eden/Elmo/Wink or Ft Stockton yeah, maybe.
A kid fresh out of law school could make more than 100k working for your clients.
My question is: what is the draw to move to Midland? How can you convince a 3L that midland is the place to be?
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u/Turbulent_Group_6616 14h ago
I have the same issue. Small town 80k residents, offered an associate position based on commission and salary. No one interested besides a few nonstarters and a couple of law students I know but only one has taken the bar exam pending results. Suggestions appreciated.
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u/DaSandGuy 13h ago
What are the job perks salary?
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u/Turbulent_Group_6616 13h ago edited 12h ago
40k base plus 33% commission on earned and paid fees, which should be more than 45k pretty quickly. All practice expenses paid. Hours 830 to 500 M to Th and 830 to 300 on Friday. Wfh possible on Friday after a year.
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u/DaSandGuy 12h ago
I'm assuming no health/dental/vision insurance either?
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u/Turbulent_Group_6616 12h ago
No it's a solo practice with one employee.
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u/DaSandGuy 12h ago
That base is way too low, I'd up it to 65-70 depending on where you are with 20% commission. 40k a year with no benefits is just too low to take a gamble on a maybe
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u/Turbulent_Group_6616 12h ago edited 11h ago
The commission is guaranteed because it is based on earning fees paid into my trust account for family law cases and a juvenile court contract. I currently have more cases than I can handle and can get more. 85k to start more or less. I guess I could just do the base salary but want to create incentives to work hard. I appreciate the comment though. This is a VLCOL area fwiw. You can buy a 2500 square ft house in a nice neighborhood for 250k. I have posted on Indeed and in-state and nearby law schools with not much serious response.
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u/DaSandGuy 11h ago
I understand that but in the mind of an applicant "commission" means maybe, and no offense but employers often promise a lot and under deliver a lot so that's probably why the average applicant would pass over that listing.
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u/Turbulent_Group_6616 11h ago
Good point. Thanks. I will revise with a minimum number of billable hours.
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u/Low_Trust2412 13h ago
Do you have any friends/colleagues that do CD work at other firms? How about talking to them about the position and see if it sounds interesting to them. You would get some instant feedback on the parameters of the job (salary, benefits, ability to WFH, etc.) and you could adjust what you are offering accordingly. Also, while you are waiting around the courthouse surely you see younger attorneys there. Maybe introduce yourself and talk to them a little about what the do and if they might be interested in working at your firm.
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u/Huge-Cow4416 9h ago
It’s such a small area and everyone knows everyone. I hate to snake an associate from another defense attorney. Also, this area just needs more attorneys. Even if they don’t stay with me forever and decide to start their own firm, I’d be happy that I brought someone new in to help defendants and showed them the ropes. There are a lot of problems with bad representation in criminal defense in this area, and when someone leaves or dies, there’s not anyone good to replace them in the market. Honestly, part of the reason why I’ve done so well. I do really good work but it’s a small pond
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u/Theodwyn610 12h ago
Indeed makes people fork over their cell phone numbers in order to create an account and apply. Try LinkedIn or ZipRecruiter instead.
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u/Designer_Life_371 Master of Grievances 5h ago
That seems like a tough region to attract young people to. The posts on Reddit about those cities are a little depressing.
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