Why Women Need to Negotiate Their Salaries

The first law firm I worked at after graduating law school and passing the Bar was at a fully remote labor and employment law firm. It was a large firm that had a large pre-litigation department as well as a small litigation department and a partner firm that we referred all of the class action cases to. However, looking back it was just a settlement mill.

Nevertheless, for the first few years, not only did I excel in what I did, but I was also able to do it as a full time digital nomad. I look my laptop and traveled the world for over two years. I visited over a dozen countries all by myself. While I had the income and freedom that most 25-27 year olds can only dream of, I was secretly being taken advantage of by a company who claims to be standing up for employee's rights. Within the first year of my employment, the firm had a restructure and I got an automatic promotion which made me a "team leader" with one subordinate attorney underneath me, and a $22,000 pay increase. I was ecstatic. I got lucky with a great subordinate attorney and we got great settlements for the firm and sometimes great settlements for the clients. While the firm preached about caring for clients and employees rights, they in fact did NOT care about their clients nor their employees. We, as a two person team, was bringing in more money than those on a three person team so naturally I asked for another associate. They gave me some pushback, but after a few months of asking, the firm eventually and reluctantly gave me a third person. I actually referred this third associate who was a classmate from law school. That was a shit show and ultimately turned out for the worst but that's a different story. The firm told me that I had to train up this third person and until he can work autonomously by himself I would not be considered a three person team leader, which was another $38,000 annual pay different. So I did that. I trained up my classmate from his moment of hire and after a month, I felt that he was ready to work autonomously so I informed my uppers of that. After they discussed it internally, they congratulated me on being a three person team and gave me my new settlement quota for a three person team but made no comments about the pay increase so I asked. To my astonishment, she said, “Why would you be expecting a pay increase? You asked for the third person and we’re just giving you what you requested for.” I was almost speechless, but I just laid out the truth to her, “Yes, I did ask for a third person and the firm ultimately decided that I can handle the additional case load and additional teammate and I am expecting a pay increase so I can be fairly compensated as my two white male colleagues who are the team leaders of a three person team. I don’t know anyone who would want to do more work and take on more responsibility for the same amount of pay. That doesn’t sound like a promotion to me, sounds like a punishment.” Her response was almost even more shocking as she suggested that they can just keep me as a two person team with the previous quotas and the same pay. So then I had to clarify, “So even though I’ve proven myself to be able to handle the additional case load and finished training up an associate, you would rather keep me, a woman of color, stagnant than give me the promotion with the pay increase so I can be paid the same as my two white male colleagues? Is that what you’re saying.” Although I didn’t make any direct threats, she understood what I was saying when I brought up my “two white male colleagues” more than once. She finally stopped arguing with me, said she would speak to the other partners, and get back to me. Within a week, I received an email with my new quotas and a pay increase that was retroactive to the beginning of the month. And that is how I was making a six figure salary by the age of 26.