Baltimore Biglaw Forum

[Anonymous User]

Thinking about lateraling into the Baltimore legal market and was wondering whether anyone who works or has worked there has some insight as to the market and the national and regional firms with offices there. My focus in particular is on corporate work. Any knowledge shared would be much appreciated!

[Anonymous User]

I'm a criminal lawyer in the area, but I've got friends who work for some of the bigger firms in the city. Venable and DLA Piper are the heavy hitters in Bmore. Saul Ewing has a strong presence there as well but it is a relatively small office in comparison to bigger cities. Semmes is a local firm that is large and does corporate stuff.

[Anonymous User]

I work at one of the firms the previous anon mentioned. Other firms to consider: Hogan,, Miles & Stockbridge, Ballad Spahr, Ober Kaler (now Baker Donelson).

Ties are important, and if someone asks you where you went to school, 90% of the time they are asking what high school you went to. Happy to answer (anonymously) any questions.

[Anonymous User]

Venable is the biggest corporate firm in the area I believe. DLA, Hogan, Miles & Stockbridge, Saul Ewing, Ballard Spahr also come to mind.

[Anonymous User]

OP here: thanks so much for all of the responses so far, these are great. Any anecdotal evidence about quality of work/people/life at the firms mentioned above?

[Anonymous User]

OP here: thanks so much for all of the responses so far, these are great. Any anecdotal evidence about quality of work/people/life at the firms mentioned above?

This is just what I've heard/seen from attorneys who've worked there/lateraled in or out:

Venable - cares a lot about personality/fit, nice people

DLA - bad work environment, people lateral out

Hogan - lacking diversity, cold work environment, met quite a few people who lateraled out to Venable or Miles and are much happier

Miles - great diversity, nice people

Of course, you may hear differently from others.

[Anonymous User]

This is just what I've heard/seen from attorneys who've worked there/lateraled in or out:

Venable - cares a lot about personality/fit, nice people

DLA - bad work environment, people lateral out

Hogan - lacking diversity, cold work environment, met quite a few people who lateraled out to Venable or Miles and are much happier

Miles - great diversity, nice people

Of course, you may hear differently from others.

Re DLA, it can be a little weird, and a lot of people do lateral out. Quality of work environment depends largely on which partner(s) you work for. Right or wrong, that office thinks of itself as the OG Baltimore biglaw firm (and the founding DLA office). So if you don't have deep Maryland roots and an interest in immersing yourself in the old-school upper-crust Baltimore business scene, you may not be happy there, even if you have enough ties to get an offer. Other DLA offices tend to be more entrepreneurial. In corp, deals are often leanly staffed, and I've known a bunch of people who lateraled out because they were just run ragged.

That said, the partners I've worked with in Baltimore are great lawyers and handle some of the biggest deals and cases in Maryland. Physical environment is very pretty, but it kind of sucks to be so far out of downtown. (Full disclosure: I lateraled out of state.)

[Anonymous User]

OP here: thanks so much for all of the responses so far, these are great. Any anecdotal evidence about quality of work/people/life at the firms mentioned above?

It's always going to depend on who you're working for and what type of deal you're staffed on, but the QOL at Venable seems pretty good for most corporate associates (compared to friends in DC/NYC).

[Anonymous User]

Bump. Any offices hiring laterals?

[Anonymous User]

I'm a 0L and my goal market is Baltimore because i'm a south central PA kid and want to return to the area. I keep hearing how tight knit Baltimore is, and i'm wondering if somehow it makes more sense for me to choose MD over UVA for that reason alone. Is OCI at UVA going to really force me to DC and NY markets, or would going to UVA bring me to the top as far as 2L SA and full-time hiring. My preferred markets would be 1) Baltimore, 2) Wilmington, 3) Philly.

[Anonymous User]

I'm a 0L and my goal market is Baltimore because i'm a south central PA kid and want to return to the area. I keep hearing how tight knit Baltimore is, and i'm wondering if somehow it makes more sense for me to choose MD over UVA for that reason alone. Is OCI at UVA going to really force me to DC and NY markets, or would going to UVA bring me to the top as far as 2L SA and full-time hiring. My preferred markets would be 1) Baltimore, 2) Wilmington, 3) Philly.

0L's aren't allowed to post here but I will answer your question anyway. I'm a 1L going to a big Baltimore firm this summer and I go to school in MD. All my fellow summer associates either come from my school, another school in MD, DC, or an Ivy. I've looked at the firm's other offices and the trend is reflected, for example the DC office has way more GW and Georgetown folks. And by looking at other firms in the area, it is similar. I don't think UVA will kill your chances but at least in Baltimore they really like to hire locally if they can, and then from a few prestigious schools of course. You will probably have a better chance at a DC or VA office if your grades are good. Most firms just don't like the idea of someone potentially running off after they get the job. That doesn't mean don't go to UVA though, surely not. It just means you'll have to sell yourself more to a particular firm.

[Anonymous User]

Plenty of people went to UVA (and other VA law schools) in my Baltimore biglaw office (although not as many as MD, obviously). All things being equal (grades are good enough to get an offer, you interview well, etc), ties are far more important than the school itself (when someone asks you why you want to be in Baltimore, you need to have a solid, non-flight risk, reason why you want to be here, which it sounds like you do).