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Hi All—Graduating 3L here going into tax at a large, highly-regarded firm in NYC. I was just informed that a spot in my practice area opened up in the DC satellite office, and I was wondering if you might have any advice as to whether or not I should consider it.

Since I may not be able to stay at my firm forever, I’d like to set myself up as best as possible for government tax work down the line, although I’m aware the jobs can be competitive. I have in mind more so treasury/IRS work than, say, becoming an AUSA and doing tax prosecutions, so DC seems like the place with the most opportunities in this regard. My firm’s DC office is decently sized but very much a satellite of the main NYC one, so there will be far fewer lawyers with whom I could make connections useful for applications to government positions. However, the tax work done in both DC and the NY headquarters is deal-oriented/transactional, and there’s consequently not really a revolving door between lawyers and government in either location—getting into the government might therefore involve an intermediate step at a more government-facing firm. Knowing more people is of course better than knowing fewer, and I’d be among many more in NYC, but I’m curious as to whether you think it might still be better to be in DC, and to try to make connections with lawyers by networking outside the firm.

Apologies if this is too specific or too speculative, but if you know anything about or have opinions on 1) how to build connections for government work 2) government tax work 3) DC vs NY or 4) HQ vs satellite, I’d love to hear from you! I’m also not set on government work either, so which city is best for other kinds of opportunities in this practice area is also very relevant to me. Thanks so much for any help you can provide.

If the NY firm is Skadden, then go for DC. If not, then you'll probably get more experience in NYC. You can always try to network with government types or transfer down to DC (or apply for jobs at IRS/Treasury) later.

Maybe my firm is a unicorn, but I know I work with people in almost all of our offices. I’ve never bought the idea that where you sit matters all that much, and post pandemic I have to figure that will be even more true. But I am in patent lit, not tax, so it might be different for you.

Personally, I know I would definitely pick the DC office. I like DC as a city far better than New York—but unless you’ve never been to both, you know which you prefer, so I won’t try and sell you on DC (I don’t want to turn this into a debate about which is better).

You can apply for jobs anywhere, but keep in mind the government doesn’t pay for relocation like firms do. So being in DC already means you don’t need to move, and could maybe even buy a house.

I would choose DC, if only because you'll need to be in DC if you want to work for Treasury/IRS, and moving sucks. Assuming the tax group isn't like, 100 people, you'll get to know folks in NYC and DC and work across offices, so I wouldn't worry that you will have less "connections" if you go with the smaller DC office. There are tons of networking opportunities in DC if you want to take advantage of them - I haven't lived in NYC, so I can't speak to what it's like there, but there are lots of tax specialty lunch groups that bring in folks from the IRS, so if you want to network with IRS folks DC is obviously pretty good for that.

My guess is this is either Skadden or Fried Frank and, in both cases, I would choose the DC office. The FF group is really cool. DC is more livable, in my opinion, than NYC. Finally, I think there are lots of tax exit options that DC would set you up better for: IRS/Treasury, tax legislative council, and tax boutiques.

Note: 3L but also doing DC tax.

I agree with those suggesting D.C. The government jobs are in D.C., and the chances of building the network you need are highest there. The fact that D.C. is a satellite office shouldn't be a big problem- most D.C. biglaw offices are satellites to one degree or another.

This has all been really helpful so far, and is in line with what I had suspected. Thanks so much everyone!