So you want to be a NY Corporate Associate? Forum

[Pierre I am]

Thank you to all who have contributed on this thread. It has saved me from 2 days of doing work + has showed me the true side of Law.

As a prospective law student you have made me question everything... especially since I'm already set up doing consulting in the mid 5 figures with incredibly lax hours.

Maybe I'll just ride out the consulting role until I hit the ceiling and go for an MBA.

[zot1]

Thank you to all who have contributed on this thread. It has saved me from 2 days of doing work + has showed me the true side of Law.

As a prospective law student you have made me question everything... especially since I'm already set up doing consulting in the mid 5 figures with incredibly lax hours.

Maybe I'll just ride out the consulting role until I hit the ceiling and go for an MBA.

Don't you want to do environmental law? Very few biglaw attorneys do enviro when they start, and if they do, it's not "sexy" enviro.

[Pierre I am]

Thank you to all who have contributed on this thread. It has saved me from 2 days of doing work + has showed me the true side of Law.

As a prospective law student you have made me question everything... especially since I'm already set up doing consulting in the mid 5 figures with incredibly lax hours.

Maybe I'll just ride out the consulting role until I hit the ceiling and go for an MBA.

Don't you want to do environmental law? Very few biglaw attorneys do enviro when they start, and if they do, it's not "sexy" enviro.

I do. If anything this thread discussed the difficulty in finding non-biglaw jobs out of a T14.

[zot1]

Thank you to all who have contributed on this thread. It has saved me from 2 days of doing work + has showed me the true side of Law.

As a prospective law student you have made me question everything... especially since I'm already set up doing consulting in the mid 5 figures with incredibly lax hours.

Maybe I'll just ride out the consulting role until I hit the ceiling and go for an MBA.

Don't you want to do environmental law? Very few biglaw attorneys do enviro when they start, and if they do, it's not "sexy" enviro.

I do. If anything this thread discussed the difficulty in finding non-biglaw jobs out of a T14.

That makes zero sense when you consider the bigger percentage of biglaw jobs go to T14, leaving the rest to everyone else.

T14 gives you a better chance to get a job because employers care less about your individual ranking. The lower your school ranking, the higher your class ranking is going to have to be.

I went to a non-T14 and a good 80 something percent of people got jobs. I think maybe you need to look more closely at employment stats.

Now please don't take this as an encouragement for you to go to law school. Please, feel free to sit it out.

[Pierre I am]

Got it - that makes a lot of sense. Either way it's a lot to ponder and this thread has definitely opened my eyes. I think it'a crucial that all OL's see both side before making a leap of faith.

[AvatarMeelo]

Just out of curiosity, how much does quality of life in NYC affect your habits and thinking as a corporate associate? Especially later on with "family years" and trying to raise children?

[dannyswo]

Just out of curiosity, how much does quality of life in NYC affect your habits and thinking as a corporate associate? Especially later on with "family years" and trying to raise children?

Difficult unless you're okay with your kids being Yankee fans.

[RParadela]

Reviving this thread to ask a question here.. May make a separate thread but I figured I'd ask in here.

A little background on my situation, I come from a middling state school (I got awful grades in high school) where I did very well and then did subsequently very well on the LSAT. Hopefully will get money at bottom T14s and sticker at CCN. Both of my parents make good money, and will pay for a large chunk of my law school (2 years at sticker, full if I get a scholarship to "cover" a third year).

With the assumption that I'll graduate from a T14 law school with minimal or zero debt coming from law school, I'm wondering what my best path is career wise. I've always had my sights set at big law but reading this thread had admittedly freaked me out a bit. My dad is a senior partner at a regional litigation MidLaw firm (PPP around 500k) in Florida. I obviously have very strong ties there. Question is: should I even go for BigLaw? Or should I just try to focus on getting a job at the aforementioned law firm?

[somedeadman]

As someone who is only a few years out of school, but still out and working in the real world, I want to add this to the OP's post.

I think if you calm down and look past all of the $$$ and the sexy lingo like "M&A" and doing "Big deals", you'll quickly realize that for most people attending law school litigation is going to be the more interesting route. It's just a lot more similar to what law school itself is like, and the ways that it differs from law school actually tend to be POSITIVE (i.e. much more of a focus on more "practical" aspects like depositions and being in court, although there are differences that are negative like responding to discovery etc.). The other thing is, like the OP said, is that it's just more broadly applicable to non law firm employers. Also,from what I can see of more senior attorneys, once you hit a certain level of experience/skill in litigation, there is going to be an employer that is going to value your skill set. Finally, like OP said, it allows you to work in government. And the more and more I work the more I realize that for most of us, government work is as good as it's going to get (good shot at making low to mid six figures but with a relatively consistent 9-5 type schedule).

If you're going into law because you want $300K + here's something that you just need to accept: most people just aren't going to make that kind of money doing any job unless they are MDs or run a business, and may MDs don't either. The law jobs that do pay that kind of money are basically hoop dreams that you can't plan for.

Terrified OL here, but reading this post makes me feel better. As someone who is two years out of college with an English Writing degree and has a pretty lackluster work experience history (social media/content marketing, pay is garbage, no upward mobility) and who has a strong desire to litigate, I hope that I'm still making the right decision by attending school next fall. Definitely prefer this path to learning how to code or selling cars.

Also was recently laid off, so...

[lavarman84]

Reviving this thread to ask a question here.. May make a separate thread but I figured I'd ask in here.

A little background on my situation, I come from a middling state school (I got awful grades in high school) where I did very well and then did subsequently very well on the LSAT. Hopefully will get money at bottom T14s and sticker at CCN. Both of my parents make good money, and will pay for a large chunk of my law school (2 years at sticker, full if I get a scholarship to "cover" a third year).

With the assumption that I'll graduate from a T14 law school with minimal or zero debt coming from law school, I'm wondering what my best path is career wise. I've always had my sights set at big law but reading this thread had admittedly freaked me out a bit. My dad is a senior partner at a regional litigation MidLaw firm (PPP around 500k) in Florida. I obviously have very strong ties there. Question is: should I even go for BigLaw? Or should I just try to focus on getting a job at the aforementioned law firm?

Why do you want to do biglaw? What are your aspirations in law?

[RParadela]

Reviving this thread to ask a question here.. May make a separate thread but I figured I'd ask in here.

A little background on my situation, I come from a middling state school (I got awful grades in high school) where I did very well and then did subsequently very well on the LSAT. Hopefully will get money at bottom T14s and sticker at CCN. Both of my parents make good money, and will pay for a large chunk of my law school (2 years at sticker, full if I get a scholarship to "cover" a third year).

With the assumption that I'll graduate from a T14 law school with minimal or zero debt coming from law school, I'm wondering what my best path is career wise. I've always had my sights set at big law but reading this thread had admittedly freaked me out a bit. My dad is a senior partner at a regional litigation MidLaw firm (PPP around 500k) in Florida. I obviously have very strong ties there. Question is: should I even go for BigLaw? Or should I just try to focus on getting a job at the aforementioned law firm?

Why do you want to do biglaw? What are your aspirations in law?

To be perfectly honest, I want to be at the highest level I can be at (reasonably speaking of course). Partner at a huge law firm is the dream of mine although I realize it's going to be ridiculously hard to pull off.

[existentialcrisis]

Reviving this thread to ask a question here.. May make a separate thread but I figured I'd ask in here.

A little background on my situation, I come from a middling state school (I got awful grades in high school) where I did very well and then did subsequently very well on the LSAT. Hopefully will get money at bottom T14s and sticker at CCN. Both of my parents make good money, and will pay for a large chunk of my law school (2 years at sticker, full if I get a scholarship to "cover" a third year).

With the assumption that I'll graduate from a T14 law school with minimal or zero debt coming from law school, I'm wondering what my best path is career wise. I've always had my sights set at big law but reading this thread had admittedly freaked me out a bit. My dad is a senior partner at a regional litigation MidLaw firm (PPP around 500k) in Florida. I obviously have very strong ties there. Question is: should I even go for BigLaw? Or should I just try to focus on getting a job at the aforementioned law firm?

3L,

But if I were you I'd try to work for a large firm elsewhere in practice area that would allow you to lateral home. I would think that if you're going to be working with a family firm, it would be valuable, at least from an optics perspective, to have work experience at a name brand firm elsewhere first.

[RParadela]

Reviving this thread to ask a question here.. May make a separate thread but I figured I'd ask in here.

A little background on my situation, I come from a middling state school (I got awful grades in high school) where I did very well and then did subsequently very well on the LSAT. Hopefully will get money at bottom T14s and sticker at CCN. Both of my parents make good money, and will pay for a large chunk of my law school (2 years at sticker, full if I get a scholarship to "cover" a third year).

With the assumption that I'll graduate from a T14 law school with minimal or zero debt coming from law school, I'm wondering what my best path is career wise. I've always had my sights set at big law but reading this thread had admittedly freaked me out a bit. My dad is a senior partner at a regional litigation MidLaw firm (PPP around 500k) in Florida. I obviously have very strong ties there. Question is: should I even go for BigLaw? Or should I just try to focus on getting a job at the aforementioned law firm?

3L,

But if I were you I'd try to work for a large firm elsewhere in practice area that would allow you to lateral home. I would think that if you're going to be working with a family firm, it would be valuable, at least from an optics perspective, to have work experience at a name brand firm elsewhere first.

That was basically my thought process as well. Shoot for BigLaw Litigation and if it doesn't work out or I don't like working in BigLaw, I'd lateral home.

[lavarman84]

Reviving this thread to ask a question here.. May make a separate thread but I figured I'd ask in here.

A little background on my situation, I come from a middling state school (I got awful grades in high school) where I did very well and then did subsequently very well on the LSAT. Hopefully will get money at bottom T14s and sticker at CCN. Both of my parents make good money, and will pay for a large chunk of my law school (2 years at sticker, full if I get a scholarship to "cover" a third year).

With the assumption that I'll graduate from a T14 law school with minimal or zero debt coming from law school, I'm wondering what my best path is career wise. I've always had my sights set at big law but reading this thread had admittedly freaked me out a bit. My dad is a senior partner at a regional litigation MidLaw firm (PPP around 500k) in Florida. I obviously have very strong ties there. Question is: should I even go for BigLaw? Or should I just try to focus on getting a job at the aforementioned law firm?

Why do you want to do biglaw? What are your aspirations in law?

To be perfectly honest, I want to be at the highest level I can be at (reasonably speaking of course). Partner at a huge law firm is the dream of mine although I realize it's going to be ridiculously hard to pull off.

That half answers the question. I want a probe a little deeper. Why do you want to be at the "highest level?" Is it for prestige reasons? Is it because you think it's more challenging? Also, what do you want to do at that level? You say litigation, but litigation is very broad. Is there a specific type of litigation you have in mind? Is there a specific part of litigation that excites you?

I recognize these are hard questions to answer as a 0L, but I do think they're worth considering while you're in law school. A lot of people on this board hate working in biglaw. It's not the right path for a lot of folks. The nice thing about law school is that it gives you time to find your path. You might end up deciding that neither biglaw nor your father's firm are the right path for you.

[RParadela]

Reviving this thread to ask a question here.. May make a separate thread but I figured I'd ask in here.

A little background on my situation, I come from a middling state school (I got awful grades in high school) where I did very well and then did subsequently very well on the LSAT. Hopefully will get money at bottom T14s and sticker at CCN. Both of my parents make good money, and will pay for a large chunk of my law school (2 years at sticker, full if I get a scholarship to "cover" a third year).

With the assumption that I'll graduate from a T14 law school with minimal or zero debt coming from law school, I'm wondering what my best path is career wise. I've always had my sights set at big law but reading this thread had admittedly freaked me out a bit. My dad is a senior partner at a regional litigation MidLaw firm (PPP around 500k) in Florida. I obviously have very strong ties there. Question is: should I even go for BigLaw? Or should I just try to focus on getting a job at the aforementioned law firm?

Why do you want to do biglaw? What are your aspirations in law?

To be perfectly honest, I want to be at the highest level I can be at (reasonably speaking of course). Partner at a huge law firm is the dream of mine although I realize it's going to be ridiculously hard to pull off.

That half answers the question. I want a probe a little deeper. Why do you want to be at the "highest level?" Is it for prestige reasons? Is it because you think it's more challenging? Also, what do you want to do at that level? You say litigation, but litigation is very broad. Is there a specific type of litigation you have in mind? Is there a specific part of litigation that excites you?

I recognize these are hard questions to answer as a 0L, but I do think they're worth considering while you're in law school. A lot of people on this board hate working in biglaw. It's not the right path for a lot of folks. The nice thing about law school is that it gives you time to find your path. You might end up deciding that neither biglaw nor your father's firm are the right path for you.

I want to be at the highest level for prestige, money, and knowing that I'm at the top of a very selective field. To be successful I guess. It might sound a little shallow, but that's what I want out of a career (again, in reasonable limits).

Not sure what I want to do in litigation.. I figured I'd get to law school and figure it out from there.

[kingpin101]

Reviving this thread to ask a question here.. May make a separate thread but I figured I'd ask in here.

A little background on my situation, I come from a middling state school (I got awful grades in high school) where I did very well and then did subsequently very well on the LSAT. Hopefully will get money at bottom T14s and sticker at CCN. Both of my parents make good money, and will pay for a large chunk of my law school (2 years at sticker, full if I get a scholarship to "cover" a third year).

With the assumption that I'll graduate from a T14 law school with minimal or zero debt coming from law school, I'm wondering what my best path is career wise. I've always had my sights set at big law but reading this thread had admittedly freaked me out a bit. My dad is a senior partner at a regional litigation MidLaw firm (PPP around 500k) in Florida. I obviously have very strong ties there. Question is: should I even go for BigLaw? Or should I just try to focus on getting a job at the aforementioned law firm?

Why do you want to do biglaw? What are your aspirations in law?

To be perfectly honest, I want to be at the highest level I can be at (reasonably speaking of course). Partner at a huge law firm is the dream of mine although I realize it's going to be ridiculously hard to pull off.

That half answers the question. I want a probe a little deeper. Why do you want to be at the "highest level?" Is it for prestige reasons? Is it because you think it's more challenging? Also, what do you want to do at that level? You say litigation, but litigation is very broad. Is there a specific type of litigation you have in mind? Is there a specific part of litigation that excites you?

I recognize these are hard questions to answer as a 0L, but I do think they're worth considering while you're in law school. A lot of people on this board hate working in biglaw. It's not the right path for a lot of folks. The nice thing about law school is that it gives you time to find your path. You might end up deciding that neither biglaw nor your father's firm are the right path for you.

I want to be at the highest level for prestige, money, and knowing that I'm at the top of a very selective field. To be successful I guess. It might sound a little shallow, but that's what I want out of a career (again, in reasonable limits).

Not sure what I want to do in litigation.. I figured I'd get to law school and figure it out from there.

Yep your dad is a senior partner alright.

[RParadela]

Reviving this thread to ask a question here.. May make a separate thread but I figured I'd ask in here.

A little background on my situation, I come from a middling state school (I got awful grades in high school) where I did very well and then did subsequently very well on the LSAT. Hopefully will get money at bottom T14s and sticker at CCN. Both of my parents make good money, and will pay for a large chunk of my law school (2 years at sticker, full if I get a scholarship to "cover" a third year).

With the assumption that I'll graduate from a T14 law school with minimal or zero debt coming from law school, I'm wondering what my best path is career wise. I've always had my sights set at big law but reading this thread had admittedly freaked me out a bit. My dad is a senior partner at a regional litigation MidLaw firm (PPP around 500k) in Florida. I obviously have very strong ties there. Question is: should I even go for BigLaw? Or should I just try to focus on getting a job at the aforementioned law firm?

Why do you want to do biglaw? What are your aspirations in law?

To be perfectly honest, I want to be at the highest level I can be at (reasonably speaking of course). Partner at a huge law firm is the dream of mine although I realize it's going to be ridiculously hard to pull off.

That half answers the question. I want a probe a little deeper. Why do you want to be at the "highest level?" Is it for prestige reasons? Is it because you think it's more challenging? Also, what do you want to do at that level? You say litigation, but litigation is very broad. Is there a specific type of litigation you have in mind? Is there a specific part of litigation that excites you?

I recognize these are hard questions to answer as a 0L, but I do think they're worth considering while you're in law school. A lot of people on this board hate working in biglaw. It's not the right path for a lot of folks. The nice thing about law school is that it gives you time to find your path. You might end up deciding that neither biglaw nor your father's firm are the right path for you.

I want to be at the highest level for prestige, money, and knowing that I'm at the top of a very selective field. To be successful I guess. It might sound a little shallow, but that's what I want out of a career (again, in reasonable limits).

Not sure what I want to do in litigation.. I figured I'd get to law school and figure it out from there.

Yep your dad is a senior partner alright.

Lol I figured someone would make some snide remark about that

[A. Nony Mouse]

I want to be at the highest level for prestige, money, and knowing that I'm at the top of a very selective field. To be successful I guess. It might sound a little shallow, but that's what I want out of a career (again, in reasonable limits).

Not sure what I want to do in litigation.. I figured I'd get to law school and figure it out from there.

But what if you're trying to be at the highest level of something you actually hate doing day to day? Being successful isn't a thing you do in itself. You have to be successful at something. What do you envision actually doing on a daily basis?

[RParadela]

I want to be at the highest level for prestige, money, and knowing that I'm at the top of a very selective field. To be successful I guess. It might sound a little shallow, but that's what I want out of a career (again, in reasonable limits).

Not sure what I want to do in litigation.. I figured I'd get to law school and figure it out from there.

But what if you're trying to be at the highest level of something you actually hate doing day to day? Being successful isn't a thing you do in itself. You have to be successful at something. What do you envision actually doing on a daily basis?

I mean... If i hate being a lawyer then I guess I'd try to switch out of it. I can't imagine I'd get to that point though. Sure, maybe I go to big law and I hate it, but I don't think I'd hate litigation in all situations

[lavarman84]

I want to be at the highest level for prestige, money, and knowing that I'm at the top of a very selective field. To be successful I guess. It might sound a little shallow, but that's what I want out of a career (again, in reasonable limits).

Not sure what I want to do in litigation.. I figured I'd get to law school and figure it out from there.

That's kind of the problem I'm getting at. Biglaw isn't really the top of a very selective field. It's simply a business model. There is a "top" of the lawyer field (to some degree). But it doesn't really revolve around the size of your firm. It's more based on ability, reputation, and perception.

But you have plenty of time to figure out what's right for you.

[Br3v]

I want to be at the highest level for prestige, money, and knowing that I'm at the top of a very selective field. To be successful I guess. It might sound a little shallow, but that's what I want out of a career (again, in reasonable limits).

Not sure what I want to do in litigation.. I figured I'd get to law school and figure it out from there.

That's kind of the problem I'm getting at. Biglaw isn't really the top of a very selective field. It's simply a business model. There is a "top" of the lawyer field (to some degree). But it doesn't really revolve around the size of your firm. It's more based on ability, reputation, and perception.

But you have plenty of time to figure out what's right for you.

Idk, I don't think it's crazy to say the "top" lawyers are at a big law firm. That doesn't mean all big law lawyers are better than non big law lawyers, but to the extent some lawyers are at the "top," they are likely to be in big law. You just have bigger clients and deals/cases there.

[lavarman84]

I want to be at the highest level for prestige, money, and knowing that I'm at the top of a very selective field. To be successful I guess. It might sound a little shallow, but that's what I want out of a career (again, in reasonable limits).

Not sure what I want to do in litigation.. I figured I'd get to law school and figure it out from there.

That's kind of the problem I'm getting at. Biglaw isn't really the top of a very selective field. It's simply a business model. There is a "top" of the lawyer field (to some degree). But it doesn't really revolve around the size of your firm. It's more based on ability, reputation, and perception.

But you have plenty of time to figure out what's right for you.

Idk, I don't think it's crazy to say the "top" lawyers are at a big law firm. That doesn't mean all big law lawyers are better than non big law lawyers, but to the extent some lawyers are at the "top," they are likely to be in big law. You just have bigger clients and deals/cases there.

In corporate, possibly. I don't know a lot about corporate. It would make sense because that's where the big deals are. I wouldn't agree that it's true for litigation.

[RParadela]

I want to be at the highest level for prestige, money, and knowing that I'm at the top of a very selective field. To be successful I guess. It might sound a little shallow, but that's what I want out of a career (again, in reasonable limits).

Not sure what I want to do in litigation.. I figured I'd get to law school and figure it out from there.

That's kind of the problem I'm getting at. Biglaw isn't really the top of a very selective field. It's simply a business model. There is a "top" of the lawyer field (to some degree). But it doesn't really revolve around the size of your firm. It's more based on ability, reputation, and perception.

But you have plenty of time to figure out what's right for you.

I'm not disagreeing with you there, although the pay for partners in big law will almost certainly be higher than in other areas of law which suggests being at the top of the field even if the pay isn't necessarily related to how skilled you are.

[Danger Zone]

I want to be at the highest level for prestige, money, and knowing that I'm at the top of a very selective field. To be successful I guess. It might sound a little shallow, but that's what I want out of a career (again, in reasonable limits).

Not sure what I want to do in litigation.. I figured I'd get to law school and figure it out from there.

That's kind of the problem I'm getting at. Biglaw isn't really the top of a very selective field. It's simply a business model. There is a "top" of the lawyer field (to some degree). But it doesn't really revolve around the size of your firm. It's more based on ability, reputation, and perception.

But you have plenty of time to figure out what's right for you.

Idk, I don't think it's crazy to say the "top" lawyers are at a big law firm. That doesn't mean all big law lawyers are better than non big law lawyers, but to the extent some lawyers are at the "top," they are likely to be in big law. You just have bigger clients and deals/cases there.

In corporate, possibly. I don't know a lot about corporate. It would make sense because that's where the big deals are. I wouldn't agree that it's true for litigation.

Look at the thread title

[lavarman84]

I want to be at the highest level for prestige, money, and knowing that I'm at the top of a very selective field. To be successful I guess. It might sound a little shallow, but that's what I want out of a career (again, in reasonable limits).

Not sure what I want to do in litigation.. I figured I'd get to law school and figure it out from there.

That's kind of the problem I'm getting at. Biglaw isn't really the top of a very selective field. It's simply a business model. There is a "top" of the lawyer field (to some degree). But it doesn't really revolve around the size of your firm. It's more based on ability, reputation, and perception.

But you have plenty of time to figure out what's right for you.

Idk, I don't think it's crazy to say the "top" lawyers are at a big law firm. That doesn't mean all big law lawyers are better than non big law lawyers, but to the extent some lawyers are at the "top," they are likely to be in big law. You just have bigger clients and deals/cases there.

In corporate, possibly. I don't know a lot about corporate. It would make sense because that's where the big deals are. I wouldn't agree that it's true for litigation.

Look at the thread title

This conversation wasn't limited to corporate work.

I'm not disagreeing with you there, although the pay for partners in big law will almost certainly be higher than in other areas of law which suggests being at the top of the field even if the pay isn't necessarily related to how skilled you are.

I wouldn't go that far. If we're talking averages, sure. If we're talking top lawyers, I think there's likely potential earn more outside of biglaw.