Are Deal Lawyers Considered ‘Second-Class Citizens’ on Wall Street?
Investment bankers may be “fee-hungry opportunists,” but they are first-class citizens on Wall Street.
Deal-making lawyers, on the other hand, are considered second-class citizens, according to a commentary on the Wall Street Journal’s Deal Journal blog.
“If you’re a Wall Street deal lawyer, you’re a well-paid functionary,” the blog says. “You’re necessary to the deal and probably superb at what you do, but a functionary nonetheless.”
The Wall Street lawyers get paid even when a deal tanks, and the absence of a “success fee” means lawyers earn less money, the commentary says. “And if it’s less money, again, why pick the law? I suppose there is more stability and job security. … But is this enough reason to be a lawyer and accept second-rate pay and second-class citizenship on Wall Street?”
