Let's talk about Atlanta! Forum

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Toni V

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by Toni V » Wed Dec 28, 2016 1:54 pm

Regarding lateraling into Atl. If you graduated from a pedigree LS AND working at a V firm your chances of lateralling into a prestigious Atlanta firm are certainly doable (especially if you are working in a practice area where the Atlanta firm has an opening). This is true even if you did not clerk.

You might be able to bypass the prestigious LS factor if your LS (or UG) was in the south ― a JD degree from Duke, UGA, GS, UVA and Emory are certainly a positive. Obviously, your interview is key and IMO local/state/southern ties figure into your chances.

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by SplitMyPants » Mon Jan 30, 2017 9:38 pm

Are the Atlanta GP's still paying $160k starting with compressed lock step to patent bar folks despite the move by Fish and Finnegan to $180k?

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jan 31, 2017 9:45 pm

SplitMyPants wrote:Are the Atlanta GP's still paying $160k starting with compressed lock step to patent bar folks despite the move by Fish and Finnegan to $180k?
A&B and Kilpatrick haven't raised for patent folks, and I'm pretty sure no one else has either. It sucks ass.

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Feb 02, 2017 11:18 am

Anonymous User wrote:Law student targeting ATL. General question...I know that Kilpatrick is a large full service firm, but have really only heard then mentioned along with IP work. Does Kilpatrick still hire a significant amount (relative to ATL) of general litigation/ transactional attorneys for summer programs or entry level jobs, or is it heavy IP with others sprinkled in?
Firmwide, non-IP hiring was about 1/3 of the 2016 summer class. For the Atlanta office specifically though, it's closer to 1/2. The Atlanta office more closely resembles a traditional full service firm while some of the satellite offices are almost pure IP (e.g. Silicon Valley).

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Feb 02, 2017 11:21 am

Anonymous User wrote:
SplitMyPants wrote:Are the Atlanta GP's still paying $160k starting with compressed lock step to patent bar folks despite the move by Fish and Finnegan to $180k?
A&B and Kilpatrick haven't raised for patent folks, and I'm pretty sure no one else has either. It sucks ass.
Yeah, once A&B and K&S announced they weren't raising for patent folks, all the other Atlanta-based firms fell in line. Not that I'm complaining. I'll take 160 in ATL over 180 in NYC any days (but wtf is up with the Texas market, so jealous).

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Feb 02, 2017 6:19 pm

Does anyone have any salary information related to non-patent associates at ATL firms that haven't publicly announced raises?

MMM, Parker Hudson, Arnall Golden, Bryan Cave, Nelson Mullins? Pretty sure Smith Gambrell has raised to ATL market. Thanks.

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Feb 02, 2017 11:44 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
SplitMyPants wrote:Are the Atlanta GP's still paying $160k starting with compressed lock step to patent bar folks despite the move by Fish and Finnegan to $180k?
A&B and Kilpatrick haven't raised for patent folks, and I'm pretty sure no one else has either. It sucks ass.
Yeah, once A&B and K&S announced they weren't raising for patent folks, all the other Atlanta-based firms fell in line. Not that I'm complaining. I'll take 160 in ATL over 180 in NYC any days (but wtf is up with the Texas market, so jealous).
You should be complaining. There are 4 firms in Atlanta paying 180 for patent.

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Feb 03, 2017 4:42 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
SplitMyPants wrote:Are the Atlanta GP's still paying $160k starting with compressed lock step to patent bar folks despite the move by Fish and Finnegan to $180k?
A&B and Kilpatrick haven't raised for patent folks, and I'm pretty sure no one else has either. It sucks ass.
Yeah, once A&B and K&S announced they weren't raising for patent folks, all the other Atlanta-based firms fell in line. Not that I'm complaining. I'll take 160 in ATL over 180 in NYC any days (but wtf is up with the Texas market, so jealous).
You should be complaining. There are 4 firms in Atlanta paying 180 for patent.
Maybe, but if a firm only has a small satellite office that has no significant presence, does that really count? For example, I think Fish had a summer class of only 1 or 2 people in their Atlanta office. It seems to me that those situation allow a firm to say "Hey our Atlanta associates start at 180" when the reality is, almost no one benefits from such a policy.

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Feb 03, 2017 11:26 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
SplitMyPants wrote:Are the Atlanta GP's still paying $160k starting with compressed lock step to patent bar folks despite the move by Fish and Finnegan to $180k?
A&B and Kilpatrick haven't raised for patent folks, and I'm pretty sure no one else has either. It sucks ass.
Yeah, once A&B and K&S announced they weren't raising for patent folks, all the other Atlanta-based firms fell in line. Not that I'm complaining. I'll take 160 in ATL over 180 in NYC any days (but wtf is up with the Texas market, so jealous).
You should be complaining. There are 4 firms in Atlanta paying 180 for patent.
Maybe, but if a firm only has a small satellite office that has no significant presence, does that really count? For example, I think Fish had a summer class of only 1 or 2 people in their Atlanta office. It seems to me that those situation allow a firm to say "Hey our Atlanta associates start at 180" when the reality is, almost no one benefits from such a policy.
And A&B has 1 maybe 2 patent bar eligible summers every year... You have to look at Fish and Finnegan's sizes as relative to the total IP market in Atlanta, not the total big law market.

Also 4 firms? Who are the other two aside from Fish and Finnegan? Paul Hasting and Jones Day?

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Feb 03, 2017 2:14 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
SplitMyPants wrote:Are the Atlanta GP's still paying $160k starting with compressed lock step to patent bar folks despite the move by Fish and Finnegan to $180k?
A&B and Kilpatrick haven't raised for patent folks, and I'm pretty sure no one else has either. It sucks ass.
Yeah, once A&B and K&S announced they weren't raising for patent folks, all the other Atlanta-based firms fell in line. Not that I'm complaining. I'll take 160 in ATL over 180 in NYC any days (but wtf is up with the Texas market, so jealous).
You should be complaining. There are 4 firms in Atlanta paying 180 for patent.
Maybe, but if a firm only has a small satellite office that has no significant presence, does that really count? For example, I think Fish had a summer class of only 1 or 2 people in their Atlanta office. It seems to me that those situation allow a firm to say "Hey our Atlanta associates start at 180" when the reality is, almost no one benefits from such a policy.
And A&B has 1 maybe 2 patent bar eligible summers every year... You have to look at Fish and Finnegan's sizes as relative to the total IP market in Atlanta, not the total big law market.

Also 4 firms? Who are the other two aside from Fish and Finnegan? Paul Hasting and Jones Day?
You have a point, thanks for successfully making me less happy :) . In all seriousness, I think one big difference is, there are two basic ways biglaw firms handle starting pay in Atlanta. Either everyone makes NY market, or only the patent group(s) do (or rather, did). Fish, Finnegan, and Jones Day all fall into the first category. I don't think there's a single Atlanta firm that has a separate pay scale for patents and bumped the patent group to 180 while having everyone else go to 155. I'm pretty sure both Troutman and Sutherland went like the other Atlanta firms to 155/160. Not 100% on that though.

As for the other firm, maybe Paul Hastings? Or Greenberg Traurig? Not sure.

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Feb 03, 2017 2:45 pm

This is a bunch of nonsense. First year patent associates at $160K firms in Atlanta are working just as hard as those at F/F/PH/JD in Atlanta. Atlanta boosted patent salaries back in the day to stay competitive with those offices in Atlanta paying NY rates. If I were a 3L with a Fish or Finnegan offer in Atlanta, there's no question I would accept over any firm paying $160K (their lockstep scales aside).

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Feb 04, 2017 2:14 pm

Anonymous User wrote:This is a bunch of nonsense. First year patent associates at $160K firms in Atlanta are working just as hard as those at F/F/PH/JD in Atlanta. Atlanta boosted patent salaries back in the day to stay competitive with those offices in Atlanta paying NY rates. If I were a 3L with a Fish or Finnegan offer in Atlanta, there's no question I would accept over any firm paying $160K (their lockstep scales aside).
100% agree. But to the extent that they felt the market for tech backgrounds demanded it at one point, I wouldn't mind the distinction and the money associated with it remaining. But yeah, this wouldnt, by any means, prevent me from lateraling back to Atlanta after a few years in NYC as planned.

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by shopgirl12 » Mon Feb 06, 2017 1:27 am

Hi,

I need some advice from grads in the work field.

First some info about me: I am scheduled to go to Emory in the fall, and I am originally from ATL.

My goal when I graduate is to work for a top law firm like A&B, etc. Here is my question: Is it likely for someone who has an online undergrad degree to get into a firm like this? Basically, even if I scored in top 10% of law class, could I be rejected from these firms based on my online undergrad degree alone?

I think I already know the answer but I just didn't want to do another undergrad degree.

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Feb 06, 2017 4:09 am

Toni V wrote:Regarding lateraling into Atl. If you graduated from a pedigree LS AND working at a V firm your chances of lateralling into a prestigious Atlanta firm are certainly doable (especially if you are working in a practice area where the Atlanta firm has an opening). This is true even if you did not clerk.

You might be able to bypass the prestigious LS factor if your LS (or UG) was in the south ― a JD degree from Duke, UGA, GS, UVA and Emory are certainly a positive. Obviously, your interview is key and IMO local/state/southern ties figure into your chances.
Hopefully you're still around on here.

So, would you say that a JD from Emory carries weight in the Atlanta market?

Someone was saying they think the firm numbers aren't super high for Emory because of self-selection (most people go to mid-size firms) rather than because of lack of opportunity. I'm not familiar enough with Emory OR Atlanta's market to know.

Was just curious what you thought would be required for someone who attended Emory to end up in one of these firms.

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Toni V

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by Toni V » Mon Feb 06, 2017 12:32 pm

Yes. If you are an Emory grad you have an excellent shot at an Atlanta V firm. I say this based on the substantial number of Georgia associates employed at these upper tier firms from UG, Emory, even GTech. Also, Mercer does fairly well for those with honors, Order of the Coif, etc. UG and Emory lead the pack. What I do not know is how steadfast the rule is about having to clerk (doesn’t seem to matter as a lateral).

I am not sure if paying the extra money for Emory gives you an advantage over someone from UG, who likely pays less tuition. That said, grades matter.

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Feb 06, 2017 1:16 pm

However, if biglaw is the only end game, I would absolutely caution against taking on any large amount of debt for Emory (and honestly, even with a Woodruff (full ride) from Emory, if you're eligible for that, then you're able to get into a T14 with very little debt). To get biglaw at one of the larger big law firms in Atlanta you still need to be really competitive from Emory or UGA (flagship journal, coif, or at least top ~15% or so). To prove this, just look at their biglaw/clerkship numbers on LST. Given that there is absolutely no guarantee that working hard in law school will translate directly into better grades, it can be a bit of a gamble.

IMO, the safest path to Atlanta biglaw that gives you the best biglaw fallback is T14->NYC biglaw->lateral to Atlanta.
Obviously, this path can be truncated to simply T14->Atl biglaw depending on 1L grades and your personal ties to the market.

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Feb 06, 2017 2:43 pm

No ties to Atlanta but want to end up there. Is it doable to get Atlanta BigLaw from a T6 without ties?

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Feb 06, 2017 2:51 pm

Anonymous User wrote:No ties to Atlanta but want to end up there. Is it doable to get Atlanta BigLaw from a T6 without ties?
Maybe with really good grades and a compelling reason. But it'll be tough. Why so set on starting in Atlanta? IMO, you'd have better luck lateraling in as a profitable 4th year than trying to get it in and have them train you in light of what they perceive as a flight risk. Plus, you'd have the added benefit of not pigeon holing yourself into Atlanta, particularly since it seems you haven't spent much time there if you don't have ties. There's a lot to love about Atlanta, but it's also very different than what you've experienced in NYC/Chicago.

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by S.Picquery » Mon Feb 06, 2017 3:11 pm

Tag.

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by ookoshi » Tue Feb 07, 2017 3:08 am

Toni V wrote:Yes. If you are an Emory grad you have an excellent shot at an Atlanta V firm. I say this based on the substantial number of Georgia associates employed at these upper tier firms from UG, Emory, even GTech. Also, Mercer does fairly well for those with honors, Order of the Coif, etc. UG and Emory lead the pack. What I do not know is how steadfast the rule is about having to clerk (doesn’t seem to matter as a lateral).

I am not sure if paying the extra money for Emory gives you an advantage over someone from UG, who likely pays less tuition. That said, grades matter.
Harsh that you left off Georgia State, esp. considering they do better than Mercer :P . But yes, Emory and Georgia place the best in Atlanta.

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Feb 08, 2017 4:34 pm

I'm pretty sure both Troutman and Sutherland went like the other Atlanta firms to 155/160. Not 100% on that though.
I can confirm they both did. I would also say that F/F are really the only two meaningful IP practices that went to 180 in ATL, I wouldn't include JD in that list (both based on their black box / no bonus comp scale and the size of their IP practice in Atlanta). Similar for PH, do they even have any prosecutors in Atlanta? They have some "IP" litigators, but they are more general lit people that dabble than an IP group.

FWIW, I think people in ATL are more annoyed that they are on a different pay scale than TX, not that they are on a different pay scale than NYC.

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Feb 09, 2017 1:03 pm

Anyone know what the numbers are for the new K&S A&B lockstep scales (or other variations)? I know it starts at 155, and I think tops out around 240. Any info on other years?

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Feb 09, 2017 1:34 pm

Starts at 160, then add 15 and from 3rd year on up, add 10 more annually.

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by SplitMyPants » Thu Feb 09, 2017 2:53 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Starts at 160, then add 15 and from 3rd year on up, add 10 more annually.
Isn't this a big change from before? I thought it used to be way more compressed. Weren't fourth years at $155k before when the starting was $135k?

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Re: Let's talk about Atlanta!

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Feb 09, 2017 4:25 pm

SplitMyPants wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Starts at 160, then add 15 and from 3rd year on up, add 10 more annually.
Isn't this a big change from before? I thought it used to be way more compressed. Weren't fourth years at $155k before when the starting was $135k?
Yes I think the pre-raise KS pay was: $135k, $140k, $145k, $155k, 165k, $175k, $185k, $190k

And just to be clear this is for non-patent

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