Written by Wang Houlong, a lawyer at Shandong Chishan Law Firm, on April 5, 2024
I'm a lawyer, and I really enjoy writing articles. Basically, every day, I write articles about the legal profession to reveal the real state of the legal profession.
Many people who read my articles will find that what I have revealed is somewhat different from what the state media has published. That's true. I'm not saying that what the state media reveals is necessarily incorrect. Maybe right. The information I posted must be correct. Why is there such a difference? I'm going to tell you today. This is because of the different angles of each. I am revealing the real situation of the legal profession from the perspective of an ordinary lawyer, while the official media is revealing the overall situation of the legal profession from a comprehensive and overall perspective. It's like you're going to average your wealth with Jack Ma.
The legal profession is also polarized, and the development of the legal profession does not mean that every lawyer is developing. The increase in fees charged by the lawyer industry does not mean that the fees charged by everyone will increase.
As far as I know, there is a law firm that charges an average of about 60,000 yuan per person a year, but the vast majority of people in this law firm have an annual income of less than 60,000 yuan. There are not many people who can achieve an annual income of more than one million yuan.
The income of law firms and lawyers often refers to the amount of fees charged, and is not equal to the net income. Especially for those big law firms, the operating expenses are very high. The rent of the law firm is very high, the salaries of many administrative staff are also very high, the renovation costs are also shared a lot every year, and the costs of cooperation and business development related to cases are also very high. There is also VAT, income tax, and so on.
For example, in a bankruptcy case, if the final result is that there are no lawyers' fees, then the law firm still needs to pay the lawyer who is handling the case. In this way, the law firm is losing money. If the final result is a lawyer's fee, the law firm also needs to pay the cooperative accounting firm the cost of cooperating in handling the bankruptcy case. The income of a lawyer and the income of a lawyer cannot simply look at how high the outward fee is!
The polarization within the lawyer industry is even more serious! You can see that there are a lot of law firms and lawyers in first- and second-tier cities! The proportion of business income is also very high! However, it is absolutely impossible to simply understand that the income of lawyers in first- and second-tier cities is necessarily higher than that of lawyers in fourth- and fifth-tier cities.
I was the same age as a lawyer, and we were both working as a lawyer at a law firm in Weihai at the time. We set up our own law firms around 2009. I set up a law firm in Rongcheng City, Weihai City, and he set up a law firm in Beijing. Why did he seem to have to change office locations in a law firm in Beijing in a few years? I went to Beijing to handle cases and wanted to see him, but he was very busy with court proceedings and did not have time to see me.
I have been working here in the law firm established in Shidao, Rongcheng City, and after more than ten years, I have everything at home, and I don't have any material needs. You can also eat seafood regularly by the sea. Now that I'm enjoying the good life of life, I want to go back to the rural life. I don't just run around all day just to be hungry. Hurry up life.
Everyone's pursuits are different. I want money, but money doesn't come. There is no intention to plant flowers and flowers, and there is no intention to plant willows and willows.
