Magic Circle Firms in US Forum

[Anonymous User]

Had CBs with 3 magic circle firms. Interested in doing cross-border corporate deals.

I assume vault rankings mean very little and so wondering how TLS would you rank these four magic circle firms' NY offices in terms of cross-border deals: clifford chance, LL, A&O, and Freshfields.

From what I hear, the NY offices of LL and A&O are more like satellite offices than CC and Freshfields, but I really don't know if this true.

Tried looking for a thread on this but no luck

[Anonymous User]

I'm in the same boat. I have callbacks with all four and so far have gone on two (FF and A&O. . .both in NY). From what I can tell the A&O office appeared to include more domestic law practice areas (ie. real estate and tax) while FF really stressed the "global" nature of their work (frequently brought up collaborating with their foreign offices). FF has a comparatively larger international arbitration division. That said, I know A&O does a lot of cross-border work, particularly on their finance side.

Still waiting to visit Linklaters and CC, but here are the rumors I know of. Clifford's US offices are in effect vestiges of the US firm that it bought when it entered the US market. CC consequently has large domestic practice areas, and as a result of the merger do a lot of US domestic legal work for the firm's clients from across the pond.

I have a friend who works at Linklaters and loves it there. She tells me that they have a great office culture and that there are numerous oportunities for her to work abroad if she so desired. I haven't really dug as deep into their practice area strengths yet.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone hear back from any of these firms? 2 call backs recently and just wondering how long they normally take

[Anonymous User]

Anyone interview for the London offices?

[Anonymous User]

LL CB mid-last week, offer this morning, so like 3-4 business days.

[Anonymous User]

i believe CC takes about a week normally although my turnaround time was 2 days. fwiw i loved everyone i met; they were sociable and sophisticated people whom i think it would be fun to work with.

[Anonymous User]

I got an offer from A&O (NY office) the day after my CB. Probably going to accept. Anyone else get an offer here?

[Anonymous User]

When was ur a&o interview what day when did you hear back? Will you accept? Stats? Got cb scheduled this week. Amped. Any tips?

[Anonymous User]

OP here:

I had CB w/ three of these firms and they all felt the same fit-wise (there were people that were super-cool and people that were super-not-cool). So for cross-border transactional work how would you rank them?

[Anonymous User]

for those with either CB or Offer from CC,

how was your CB experience? Any tips as to what they are looking for? Also mind sharing your stats?

[Anonymous User]

for those with either CB or Offer from CC,

how was your CB experience? Any tips as to what they are looking for? Also mind sharing your stats?

Loved my cb, everyone was friendly and talkative. My first interview we barely talked about anything related to international law and got into a long tangent about some other type of law. I think you should be interested in international law - find some personal experiences that really showcase this; knowing another language would help, and just generally be interested and intelligent. CCN medianish.

[Anonymous User]

When was ur a&o interview what day when did you hear back? Will you accept? Stats? Got cb scheduled this week. Amped. Any tips?

It was on a Tuesday and I heard the next day. There's a really good chance I'm going to accept; I liked everything about the firm. Top 10%, T20, LR. No tips really--I was really interested in the firm and I think that came through. I also didn't play up the whole international work thing a lot becasue I think they get that a lot and think most law students don't really know what it means to work on international deals.

[Anonymous User]

for those with either CB or Offer from CC,

how was your CB experience? Any tips as to what they are looking for? Also mind sharing your stats?

Loved my cb, everyone was friendly and talkative. My first interview we barely talked about anything related to international law and got into a long tangent about some other type of law. I think you should be interested in international law - find some personal experiences that really showcase this; knowing another language would help, and just generally be interested and intelligent. CCN medianish.

how long did it take from CB to Offer?

[Anonymous User]

for those with either CB or Offer from CC,

how was your CB experience? Any tips as to what they are looking for? Also mind sharing your stats?

Loved my cb, everyone was friendly and talkative. My first interview we barely talked about anything related to international law and got into a long tangent about some other type of law. I think you should be interested in international law - find some personal experiences that really showcase this; knowing another language would help, and just generally be interested and intelligent. CCN medianish.

how long did it take from CB to Offer?

Not who you're asking but mine took one week

[Anonymous User]

Quick rookie question, what state do you need to be licensed in to practice in London (or any foreign office for that matter) if any? Can it be any state?

[Anonymous User]

You need to take the LPC!

[Anonymous User]

London Firms, or US Firms with London Offices, ask that you be licensed in New York. You will get paid a New York salary (160), plus a cost of living adjustment (30-60k pounds per year). But you will be limited to certain areas of law, usually capital markets (securities). Most firms have US departments there ranging from 5 lawyers to 30 or so lawyers.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone do a CB at FF DC? If so, any insight?

[Anonymous User]

When was ur a&o interview what day when did you hear back? Will you accept? Stats? Got cb scheduled this week. Amped. Any tips?

It was on a Tuesday and I heard the next day. There's a really good chance I'm going to accept; I liked everything about the firm. Top 10%, T20, LR. No tips really--I was really interested in the firm and I think that came through. I also didn't play up the whole international work thing a lot becasue I think they get that a lot and think most law students don't really know what it means to work on international deals.

Different anon, but I got an offer from A&O, over a week post-CB so it can take longer. No particular tips to offer. I did ask a ton of questions (because I had genuine concerns and because it really is a lot different from the other new york firms I was looking at) which I guess might have been useful for demonstrating interest in and knowledge about them. Anyway, I'm not accepting, so good luck to you; I hope you get it

[Anonymous User]

This is what you get on top of your 160K if you work in London... I imagine that Hong Kong is similar to London.


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[Anonymous User]

any movement this week?

[Anonymous User]

hoping to hear some good news from A&O soonish!

[Anonymous User]

hoping to hear some good news from A&O soonish!

when was your cb?

[Anonymous User]

Anyone interview for the London offices?

i know someone interviewing at A&O's London office.

[Anonymous User]

hoping to hear some good news from A&O soonish!

when was your cb?

16th