Geographic location for big law Forum

A forum for applicants and admitted students to ask law students and graduates about law school and the practice of law.
Post Reply
water.melon45

New
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jul 24, 2019 11:06 am

Geographic location for big law

Post by water.melon45 » Wed Jul 24, 2019 11:13 am

I'm a 0L about to start at Vanderbilt Law School. I'm trying to figure out where (geographically) I want to work after I graduate. I want to do corporate law. I'm from Houston, and I have ties to the Houston big law market. I've worked at a large corporate firm in Houston for 2 summers as an undergraduate intern. If I get good grades in law school, I'm pretty sure I could come back to this firm or a similar one. I'm just not sure if I am in love with Houston as a city. I don't want to go to New York, but I'm considering DC or somewhere in California. I'm wondering what the differences are in corporate law firms by geographic location - firm culture, work type (oil & gas in Houston, tech in Cali?), salary, etc. I know I'm thinking about this a little far out, but I feel like where I want to end up determines where I try to be a summer associate.

User avatar
cavalier1138

Moderator
Posts: 8007
Joined: Fri Mar 25, 2016 8:01 pm

Re: Geographic location for big law

Post by cavalier1138 » Wed Jul 24, 2019 1:34 pm

It's not so much that this is too early to think about this stuff, but you're putting the cart before the horse.

DC is extremely competitive, even from the T13. If you don't have top grades, don't count on it being an option. California firms definitely like you to have ties to the state. As you mentioned, you should be decently positioned to get back to Houston. But you need to get more comfortable with the idea of NYC; that's where most big firms are hiring.

You're going to have to tailor your location preferences to your 1L performance. If you do well, awesome; the sky's the limit. If you're at median (or below), you need to figure out whether you care more about having the biglaw job/paycheck or being able to work in a specific locale.

64Fl

New
Posts: 76
Joined: Sun Jun 30, 2019 10:45 pm

Re: Geographic location for big law

Post by 64Fl » Thu Aug 01, 2019 12:51 pm

I agree that the cart is going in front of the horse here.

You probably will not be competitive for DC, and there is a good chance that you'll have to start in NY if you want true biglaw. California is going to be tough with no ties; the south will be largely regional shops with compressed salary scales; and TX seems like it could be rather difficult considering UT and the T14 normally dominate the market. Quite frankly, if you didn't know where you wanted to go and wanted a national reach, Vandy was really not the correct choice. While it's biglaw placement is the best that it's ever been, you're going to need to do a lot of hustling to get into the specific regions you want.

The Lsat Airbender

Gold
Posts: 1750
Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2019 7:34 pm

Re: Geographic location for big law

Post by The Lsat Airbender » Fri Aug 02, 2019 10:18 am

64Fl wrote:TX seems like it could be rather difficult considering UT and the T14 normally dominate the market.
This is maybe too pessimistic. OP has legit Houston ties and that market is hot right now. They'll need to do well 1L to feel confident but they have a plausible shot even from median if the economy holds for another 18 months.

Want to continue reading?

Register now to search topics and post comments!

Absolutely FREE!


Post Reply

Return to “Ask a Law Student / Graduate”