Biglaw White Collar Senior Associate -- AMA Forum

[BiglawSenior]

I will answer questions I like that don't require long responses.

[20160810]

How did you get into that group? It seems pretty awesome, as biglaw goes. Is it awesome?

[BiglawSenior]

How did you get into that group? It seems pretty awesome, as biglaw goes. Is it awesome?

I switched from general commercial litigation as a 5th year after doing diligence work for the practice group head for 1-2 years and ingratiating myself. It is pretty awesome, as biglaw goes.

[barkschool]

How did you get into that group? It seems pretty awesome, as biglaw goes. Is it awesome?

I switched from general commercial litigation as a 5th year after doing diligence work for the practice group head for 1-2 years and ingratiating myself. It is pretty awesome, as biglaw goes.

What makes it awesome, compared to what you were doing in general commercial lit.

[Desert Fox]

How much time do you spend reviewing docs and interviewing witnesses? 90 % or 95%

[BiglawSenior]

How much time do you spend reviewing docs and interviewing witnesses? 90 % or 95%

80-90% is probably right for the juniors in the group. Probably 30% investigation/fact development/documents, 20% managing, reviewing drafts, etc., 15% interviews, 35% calls, meetings, presentations, etc., with client/government.

[BiglawSenior]

How did you get into that group? It seems pretty awesome, as biglaw goes. Is it awesome?

I switched from general commercial litigation as a 5th year after doing diligence work for the practice group head for 1-2 years and ingratiating myself. It is pretty awesome, as biglaw goes.

What makes it awesome, compared to what you were doing in general commercial lit.

There's very little legal research. There aren't often novel issues of law at play, and most things turn on facts, questions of admissibility, credibility, strategy. I got very tired of litigating the shit out of discovery disputes for years on cases that were bound to settle before trial anyway. It was boring. I almost never write briefs now, and the underlying facts I'm dealing with are much more engaging.

[sweeteavodka]

How tough is travel and being away from family/friends?

[Lincolnlogs401]

Where do you see your career going in the next few years/what options are there generally for white collar associates? Thanks so much!

[20160810]

What advice would you give an aspiring securities fraudster?

(Asking for a friend.)

[Anonymous User]

Where do you see your career going in the next few years/what options are there generally for white collar associates? Thanks so much!

Seconding this question. Is in house available as a backup option, and how the hell does one bring in business?

[DELG]

Also wondering about travel

[Glasseyes]

Also wondering about travel

Curious about this too. I interviewed with several white collar groups where the travel seemed pretty extreme. At lunch a few associates at one firm told me about a girl who got sent to Southeast Asia for something like 3 months after working at the firm for less than a month. Sounded rough.

[BiglawSenior]

The travel can be very extensive and is difficult. Junior associates are sometimes gone for long stretches of time (weeks, not months). My trips tend to be in the 5-10 day range. Spending a week out of the country isn't that different from working long hours at home, and I really don't mind those. Longer trips are harder.

It's a good practice area in terms of exit options. It transfers very well to in-house positions, and the biglaw --> government path is easier from white collar than it is from other practice areas. It's also an area where there is a lot of lateral recruiting these days.

[Anonymous User]

Any advice for someone going into commercial/securities lit about how to prop the white collar door open as widely as possible? I've always thought it would be the best-case scenario for me.

I'm going to a firm that does a lot of WC and investigations, but I'm at the wrong office (NY) for that group (DC). It's still a long-term goal, either by transferring offices or lateraling. I know it may be hard for you to speak to that without getting into the specifics of your firm, but if anything comes to mind I'll gladly listen. Thanks!