The 401k Mistake Most BigLaw Associates Are Making
You're likely contributing to your 401k. You set it up during onboarding, picked a fund, and have been letting it run in the background ever since.
The mistake is thinking that's enough.
On a BigLaw salary, treating your 401k as your entire financial strategy is like billing 2,000 hours a year and leaving half your invoices unpaid. You're doing the work, but you're not capturing the full value of it.
Here's what's actually going on inside most BigLaw associates' retirement accounts, and what a real wealth-building strategy looks like at your income level.
You're Probably in the Wrong Fund
Most associates pick a target-date fund during onboarding because it's the path of least resistance.
Target-date funds aren't bad, but they're built for the average investor, not for someone in the top 5% of earners with a long runway, significant other assets, and a complex financial picture.
Your asset allocation needs to reflect your full financial situation, your risk tolerance, your timeline, and your goals. A default fund reflects none of that. It reflects the fact that you had fifteen minutes between orientation sessions and needed to pick something.
If you've never revisited your fund selection since onboarding, now is the time.
The Contribution Ceiling Is Lower Than You Think
In 2026, the 401k contribution limit is $24,500. That sounds like a lot.
For a first-year BigLaw associate earning $225,000, that's roughly 10% of gross income. For a senior associate or junior partner clearing $400,000 or more, it's closer to 6%.
The 401k contribution limit was designed for median earners. It was not designed to carry the full weight of wealth building for high-income professionals. If your plan is to max your 401k and call it a strategy, you are leaving significant ground uncovered.
Maxing your 401k should be the floor, not the ceiling.
You're Likely Missing the Backdoor Roth
Once your income crosses certain thresholds, you lose the ability to contribute directly to a Roth IRA. Most BigLaw associates hit that ceiling within their first few years.
What most of them don't know is that the backdoor Roth conversion still works. You contribute to a traditional IRA on a non-deductible basis and then convert it to a Roth. Done correctly, it's a clean, legal strategy that gets money into a tax-free growth vehicle even at high income levels.
Done incorrectly, or without accounting for other IRA balances, it creates a tax mess that costs more than it saves.
This is exactly the kind of strategy that gets skipped when you're managing your finances in between depositions.
Nobody Told You About the Taxable Brokerage
Once you've maxed your 401k and executed your backdoor Roth, the next move is a taxable brokerage account. No contribution limits. No income restrictions. Full flexibility to invest and access funds without waiting until retirement age. Not to mention tax-loss harvesting, a strategy where you sell investments that are down to offset gains elsewhere in your portfolio and reduce what you owe the IRS come April.
For high earners building toward financial independence or a major life event like buying out equity at partnership, a taxable brokerage is essential.
Most BigLaw associates never get there. Not because they can't afford to, but because nobody walked them through the sequence.
The Real Cost of Doing Nothing
Here's the math that matters.
If you're a third-year associate earning $280,000 and your only savings vehicle is a maxed 401k, you're saving roughly $24,500 per year in a tax-advantaged account. That leaves over $250,000 in gross income being managed without a real strategy around it.
Some of it goes to taxes. Some goes to student loans. Some goes to lifestyle. A meaningful portion of it is sitting in a checking account doing nothing, or getting spent without intention, because there's no system pulling it toward a goal.
What a Real Strategy Looks Like
It starts with your 401k. Max it, allocate it intentionally, and revisit it at least once a year.
Then it layers in the backdoor Roth conversion, executed cleanly with someone who knows what they're doing.
Then it opens a taxable brokerage and starts building wealth outside of retirement accounts, with a clear purpose for every dollar that goes in, with a tax planning strategy executed inside of it.
Then the strategy accounts for taxes proactively, not reactively, so your contribution strategy doesn't create a surprise in April.
None of this is complicated. It's just sequential, and it requires someone to walk you through the sequence once so you can stop guessing.
Your 401k is a good start, but it was never meant to be the whole plan.
You deserve to build wealth that works as hard as you do. My team and I want to build that plan.
If you're ready to assemble the full picture, let's talk.
Colby Long is a Wealth Advisor at EPM Financial, specializing in financial planning, tax strategy, and student loan optimization for corporate attorneys and high-earning professionals.
A Roth IRA conversion—sometimes called a backdoor Roth strategy—is a way to contribute to a Roth IRA when income exceeds standard limits. The converted amount is treated as taxable income and may affect your tax bracket. Federal, state, and local taxes may apply. If you’re required to take a minimum distribution in the year of conversion, it must be completed before converting. To qualify for tax-free withdrawals, you must generally be age 59½ and hold the converted funds in the Roth IRA for at least five years. Each conversion has its own five-year period, and early withdrawals may be subject to a 10% penalty unless an exception applies. Income limits still apply for future direct Roth IRA contributions. This material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or investment advice. Please consult a qualified tax professional regarding your individual circumstances.
Investing includes risks, including fluctuating prices and loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss.