Following a Spouse to New City that Requires Ties Forum

[Anonymous User]

Quote:
Is there any quick and easy way to find out which cities have good biglaw firms and which do not? The SO is looking into 40+ programs right now, so I'm not sure if it's practicable for me to research literally every single possible place we can end up

Why do you need to do this now? She where s/he gets in and gets funding, then explore that limited subset of cities. By the way, I'm really confused on timing. When is your clerkship up? It seems a bit late if it's about to end, though some jduges are on weird calendars.

I don't *need* to do this now -- my SO will find out about grad programs in the winter/spring and my clerkship ends next summer/fall. But I am concerned that given how difficult it is to be accepted, as a practical matter, my SO will have a FAR harder time of turning down a program than not applying at all. I think that if the SO gets into only one program, or only gets into programs not near major legal markets, asking the SO to turn down any chance of grad school could be a major stressor on our relationship. If possible, I'd like to limit the number of unworkable places on the front end (to zero if possible).

And, in response to a question posed by an earlier poster that I think I neglected to answer: we are married (or the equivalent).

[theaccidentalclerk]

I don't *need* to do this now -- my SO will find out about grad programs in the winter/spring and my clerkship ends next summer/fall. But I am concerned that given how difficult it is to be accepted, as a practical matter, my SO will have a FAR harder time of turning down a program than not applying at all.

So you're trying to figure out what ones NOT to apply to because you don't want to be in a situation where the only place s/he gets in (with funding, if it's one of those disciplines where "no funding" is just a soft rejection) is in one of the handful of places where you couldn't work?

If that's what you're asking, I would assume that you could probably find biglaw-type work (i.e., a firm willing to pay you more than $100k) in every metro area with more than a million people (except maybe for places right on the border like Brownsville or the like, and the previously-mentioned super-trendy secondary markets -- though I wouldn't necessarily write the latter of those off, just know that the job search will be harder). I would also assume that you could find intellectually- and professionally-satisfying government work anywhere that is within commuting distance of the state capital, though it might require you to do IBR. Everywhere else (and this really shouldn't be that many places) will require you to investigate whether it's realistic for you to move there.

ETA: Here's a list of metro areas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_me ... ted_States. There are a few more that I'd be wary about moving to -- a couple of the Florida markets, Grand Rapids, Greenville (SC), etc. But in general, most of the others over 1M will either have a biglaw-type firm, or they're a state capital (or near a state capital) where there will be decent govt work.

[Anonymous User]

I have a related question. I have an SA at a big firm in my home city, and I plan to stay with this firm for a long time. In a few years, my spouse will be required to spend two years in a different city to complete a degree, and I would like to follow (for two years only). What do you think are the chances that, after one year as an associate, a firm would allow a temporary transfer to an office in a different city? Would the firm really care since you're still working for them, or is a temporary office change a big deal?