I think there are some probably counter factual assumptions in this piece of advice.Anonymous User wrote:I think this is the right advice for people that want to make more money and be in MN more long term. One of my friends that is at Faegre/Dorsey said that his one regret is not starting his legal career in Chicago when he had the chance just so his salary might be higher now. And I am following his advice now and not going to MN to start my career.
- You can certainly make more -- much more -- in other markets while you are there. But you seem to suggest that lateral lawyers who come to Minnesota after starting elsewhere make significantly more than otherwise similar lawyers who started here while they are practicing in Minnesota. From personal experience, I can assure you that this isn't true. It is true that anytime an experienced person changes jobs, they have a better bite at negotiating compensation than an entry level employee - but this applies to people moving within the market and to moves out of the market just as much as inbound moves. But typically any bump a lateral associate negotiates in this market evaporates quickly as firms use non-lockstep raises and bonuses to bring you back to the same total compensation scale.
- You seem to assume you can always come back. The reality is that the Minnesota law firm market is not very deep and firms are very conservative about hiring. Once you start practice, you are more or less limited to the practice area you started in. Unlike New York or Chicago firms, Minneapolis firms don't have the scale to just make room for someone opportunistically. If they don't have an open position - and they might never have an open position - it doesn't matter how much of a hotshot you are. There is plenty of lateral movement and many people have started elsewhere and successfully transitioned to Minnesota, but I also know so many people at top law firms in major cities who want desperately to move back to the Twin Cities but can't find a decent job. I know others who are in the Twin Cities now after moving back but who had to settle for an inferior opportunity or waited YEARS for an opening. It's not the end of the world - these people are just fine - but if your plan is to start elsewhere and end up in a top quality Minnesota job, you need to be prepared for the very real possibility that you won't be able to move back on your terms.
- If you do want to start elsewhere and move back, I suggest you still interview and possibly split summer in Minnesota so you can be better positioned to move back (both by building contacts and becoming a known quantity, but also by gaining an understanding of the different demands of practice in MN).
