re: Life as a Lawyer Advice Needed

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these are almost certainly personal injury lawyers

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I can think of a few other areas where it's theoretically possible, namely bankruptcy. I know some consumer bankruptcy attorneys who print money.

But it goes with what he said that it's about being a good businessman and not necessarily a good lawyer.

A major reason why PI is so profitable in every state is that it has a very low barrier of entry in terms of legal complexity. Easy cases anyone can do with big margins, and if you cast a big enough net you'll rope some monsters. If you get a complex one or one that requires a trial, just cut 1/3 - 1/2 the fee with a trial firm.

You can do the mill thing with a few other areas, but bankruptcy is the only one that I have experienced second hand (2 different attorneys).

Theoretically possible with criminal, but to really make that kind of money your barrier of entry is big (doing major federal cases, murders, etc.) so the level of lawyering is different....or you can try the mill thing but that's only going to work in a few areas in the country.

Any practice aera that requires billing is only capable of making that money by siphoning the value of hourly billing from a lot of associates. Typically this has a high barrier to entry of both the practice area and business, so I doubt you're going to have many guys banking in a firm like this with an unaccredited law degree.