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Most people don't realize how screwed up the payment system is for most lawyers.
People in the finance fields, or even real estate agents, etc., have much better systems. They take a part of the deal as payment, get a guaranteed percentage of the transaction, or other such arrangements. You then get a guaranteed "pop" at the end of the deal, and it can be quite a big pop, for relatively few hours worked.
Most lawyers work on a billable hour system. Thus, you only get paid for hours billed. You don't work an hour, you don't get paid. That is very limiting, there is a cap on how many hours you can work. You are never going to net $500,000/yr working for people by the hour.
Of course, then there is also the collection issue, it doesn't do any good to work and bill an hour unless it is actually paid.
There are ways around those limitations, but they are very difficult. I guess you could be a lucky contingency lawyer. That is a ton of risk, and also takes a lot of effort, talent and ability to be able to get good contingency cases. Most contingency lawyers don't, and earn very little.
The other way is to be a rainmaker and leverage off other attorneys working on your cases. This a highly competitive endeavor, in which 90% fail. It is very difficult for a lawyer to get, and keep, a book of paying clients big enough to provide work for 3, 4 or 5 full time lawyers. Very difficult. But, like making it to the Major leagues, or an actor making it big, it would pay quite well.
But either the highly successful contingency lawyer, or the rainmaker, is very rare. 97% of lawyers do not fall into that category. Even in big states like California, the average lawyer only makes 5 figures per year.
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