1. PERSONALIA
- Age: 32
- Education: Master of Law
- Work experience : 3 years
- Civil status: Legal cohabitation
- Dependent people/children: None
2. CONTRACT & CONDITIONS
- Current job title: Lawyer
- Seniority: 3 years
- Official hours/week : 38 hours/week
- Average real hours/week incl. overtime: 38 - 40 hours/week (including own clients)
- Shiftwork or 9 to 5 (flexible?): 9 to 5
- Vacation days/year: 20
3. SALARY
- Gross salary/month: 6.000,00 (including income from own clients which is less than 10%)
- Average net salary/month (incl. net fees): 3.035,87
- Netto compensation: 0
- 13th month (full? partial?): 0
- Meal vouchers: 0
- Ecocheques: No
- Salary car/bike and/or fuel card: No
- Group insurance (% employer): No
- Other insurances: No
- Other benefits (bonuses, stocks options, ... ): None
4. MOBILITY
- City/region of work: East-Flanders
- Distance home-work (km's/time): 20-30 minutes
- How do you commute? Bicycle
- How is the travel home-work compensated: Not
- Telework days/week: 0
5. OTHER
- How easy can you plan a day off: Easily if it’s planned one month in advance
- Is your job stressful? Medium when working for the lawfirm, high when working for own clients
- Education possibilities: None
- Responsible for personnel (reports): None
Before anyone says my situation is not comparable with employees;
- I almost only work for the lawfirm 38hours/week.
- I do have own cliënts, but they make up less then 10% of my time and earnings.
- My vacations and sickdays are payed because I have a fixed rate.
- My net salary is my real net income, meaning all my costs (accountant, Bar membership ...) are already substracted.
- I don't have a BV. I'm an "eenmanszaak".
Being a lawyer at a lawfirm is textbook "schijnzelfstandig". Every lawyer that isn't a partner in a lawfirm will agree with this.
That being said: The work I do is becoming repetitive. Once you've written 10 subpoenas and legal conclusions, you can write them all. There aren't a lot of challenges anymore. Apart from pleading in court, I feel more like an overpayed legal assistant.
Furthermore, my bosses made clear that there isn't more room for any raises in the future, unless I become a partner, which I have absolutely no interest in becoming . I like my work/life balance as it is.
That's why I'm considering to leave the lawyership and work as a legal counsel in the private sector.
With my limited experience I fear that I will take a big paycut, and I will have to start from scratch workwise since I have absolutely no experience in being a legal counsel.
I'm curious about your insights on this.