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$700/hr for legal advice vs. $100/hr for a top software engineer – why?

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Re: $700/hr for legal advice vs. $100/hr for a top software engineer – why?

#71

Post by [deleted] »

dfc wrote: post #35
jonknee wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not it, there are too many attorneys as it is (new grads aren't finding jobs). One big difference is people brag about a high paid attorney (it's considered a good thing to pay a lot for legal advice) but never brag about how much they pay their developers (it's considered a good thing to pay less for developers).

I have never seen anyone claim that the ABA bar and accreditation process did not have an effect on wages. That is a tough position to stake out. Do you have any evidence that the ABA's barrier to entry into the legal market does not inflate wages? And/or that patent bar admission does not increase the amount of money a lawyer can charge for their time? Moreover the "new grads without jobs" is a fairly recent develop…

[deleted]

Re: $700/hr for legal advice vs. $100/hr for a top software engineer – why?

#72

Post by codeonfire »

jbester wrote: post #43
rm999 wrote: post #10

Is it fair to compare a major law firm with an independent software engineer? At my last company (~3000 employees) when I did billable work they charged the client 300/hour. From a few minutes of googling I am reading that typical lawyer fees (not big law firms) are 200-300 dollar an hour, eg: http://www.topix.com/forum/city/utica-ny/TDV8TU0N3HTLL1UMK . I've never hired a lawyer and I've never directly contracted mys…

Agreed with parent. The burdened rate (that is pay, plus benefits, plus company overhead) for a decent sized software company will easily be $200 - $800 /hr depending on location and company size. Lawyers are licensed and specialized - the costs associated are passed through to the customers into their rate.

With overhead meaning seven layers of management, their bonuses, company vehicles, and stock grants.

Re: $700/hr for legal advice vs. $100/hr for a top software engineer – why?

#73

Post by hudell »

lukevdp wrote: post #66
herval wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my home country, pretty much one in every 10 people with a degree is a lawyer (if I'm not mistaken, 1/3 of the world lawyers work there). Still, the hourly rates of the good ones are huge (to the tune of the aforementioned 700/h). I'm guessing it's a factor of the number of hours: you don't hire a lawyer for 8h/day - you pay for a few hours, and that is that, so at the end if the month, they sort of "cost the same…

Out of curiosity, what country are you from?

judging by his comments, it seems to be Brazil. I don't know if we have 1/3 of the world lawyers, but I know we are the country with the greatest number of law schools. And you won't find anyone around here who doesn't know at least one lawyer.

Re: $700/hr for legal advice vs. $100/hr for a top software engineer – why?

#74

Post by herval »

lukevdp wrote: post #66
herval wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my home country, pretty much one in every 10 people with a degree is a lawyer (if I'm not mistaken, 1/3 of the world lawyers work there). Still, the hourly rates of the good ones are huge (to the tune of the aforementioned 700/h). I'm guessing it's a factor of the number of hours: you don't hire a lawyer for 8h/day - you pay for a few hours, and that is that, so at the end if the month, they sort of "cost the same…

Out of curiosity, what country are you from?

Brazil

According to census, we have one lawyer for every 300 persons (from which I extrapolate that there's one on every 6 people with a degree)

Re: $700/hr for legal advice vs. $100/hr for a top software engineer – why?

#75

Post by zacaltman »

It's a matter of what it's worth to you. What risks are you willing to take?

There are developers who may charge $700/hr, but you've chosen to go with a developer who charges $100/hr because that's what you need at this stage. If he made a mistake, it's not likely to cost you EVERYTHING to fix up. Somebody points out the bug / issue and you can hire him to sort it out and push out an update. Speak to a developer who works at a law firm ;)

Conversely, people device to go with a $700/hr lawyer because of their experience and reputation. You're paying for them to not make a mistake because it may just cost you EVERYTHING. It's not a mistake you can fix after it's found. Something wrong with your patent? Contract? Not something you can say 'oops, it's fixed now' to.

Re: $700/hr for legal advice vs. $100/hr for a top software engineer – why?

#76

Post by RivieraKid »

gokulk wrote: post #54
RivieraKid wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a top Android developer from the Czech Republic and usually charge about $25/hour.

show us some of your examples. would be interesting to compare between app styles and price difference in US and other countries

Sorry, I'd rather remain pseudonymous on HN. I can send you links to the apps via email if you want.

Re: $700/hr for legal advice vs. $100/hr for a top software engineer – why?

#77

Post by rmc »

tzs wrote: post #55

One of chef Gordon Ramsay's signature dishes is lobster ravioli with celery root cream and shellfish vinaigrette. If you were to hire Ramsay to come and make that dish for a dinner party at your house, I'd guess his hourly rate would be pretty high. Now suppose you hired Ramsay, but instead of a dinner party it was for your kid's birthday party--and all you want Ramsay to do is boil Oscar Meyer hot dogs and serve the…

Well, I'm sure if you paid Gordon Ramsay his regular (high) rate to do the crappy kids birthday, he'd probably take it.

I'm sure there is no end of little hand holding that top brass do. So long as the rate is right.

Re: $700/hr for legal advice vs. $100/hr for a top software engineer – why?

#78

Post by hhuio »

cwh wrote: post #11
hhuio wrote: post #4

Because software people don't ask for more. developer auction offers I'm getting is 85k to 130k so far, for someone with close to 10 year experience in the valley! wtf

Possibly it's due to your poor grammar?

Well, English is not my first language. btw, I'm making more than double the lowest bid.

Re: $700/hr for legal advice vs. $100/hr for a top software engineer – why?

#79

Post by davimack »

There's a fundamental difference: Billable Hours.

For a lawyer, if they put in 100 hours to come up with a 2-page letter, they charge for those 100 hours. The next time a client comes to them with a similar problem, they charge for 100 hours.

Software developers charge for time actually spent working on a particular project. If they reuse code, they don't (typically) charge anything. If developers were to charge for the number of hours spent writing that code they're reusing, they'd be more like lawyers.

Re: $700/hr for legal advice vs. $100/hr for a top software engineer – why?

#80

Post by RivieraKid »

clashofthetitan wrote: post #62
RivieraKid wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a top Android developer from the Czech Republic and usually charge about $25/hour.

Hi RivieraKid, would love to get in touch about some work - do you think you could drop me an email or let me know your address so I can contact you? can reach me at: HanLAyNijhfB@meltmail.com

Email dropped.
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