Seattle Market Forum

[Anonymous User]

What are the best firms in Seattle? I've heard that the Seattle market is comparatively insular, is that true? Is it better to go to a Seattle satellite office of a larger national firm, or one that has HQ in Seattle? Generally, any info about Seattle would be great!

[rpupkin]

What you heard is accurate: the Seattle market is extremely insular. It's very hard to get a firm job there if you don't have a significant connection to the city (e.g., you grew up there, you went to UW, you worked at Microsoft/Amazon for five years). If you have significant ties to the city, and if you go to a T14, and if your grades are good, and if you interview well....then you might land one of the 30 or so big law SA positions in Seattle.

[Anonymous User]

It is extremely difficult to obtain a job there without ties.

I attended a T14 and was at the very top of my class (as in top 10-15 students). I am from the South but love Seattle and expressed this in all of my screeners. 0 callbacks. FWIW, I am not a poor interviewer and landed lots of offers at top firms in other markets. The only bright spot in this is that, from what I can tell, it is much easier to lateral there than it is to obtain an SA spot there. I would recommend trying to go to Silicon Valley and then lateraling to one of the corporate groups in Seattle. Then again, if the tech market slows in the next few years (as many predict) this might not be a good plan.

Good luck!

[Anonymous User]

It is extremely difficult to obtain a job there without ties.

I attended a T14 and was at the very top of my class (as in top 10-15 students). I am from the South but love Seattle and expressed this in all of my screeners. 0 callbacks. FWIW, I am not a poor interviewer and landed lots of offers at top firms in other markets. The only bright spot in this is that, from what I can tell, it is much easier to lateral there than it is to obtain an SA spot there. I would recommend trying to go to Silicon Valley and then lateraling to one of the corporate groups in Seattle. Then again, if the tech market slows in the next few years (as many predict) this might not be a good plan.

Good luck!

Worthless anecdotal counterpoint: Coming from a lower t14 with top third grades and a lot of work experience, I bid on maybe three Seattle firms, got one screener, lucked out and landed the callback with only minor ties (one sibling of spouse and a few friends in the city). I canceled the CB anyway and I prob wouldn't have gotten it, but this board makes it sound impossible. Granted, the overall hiring numbers are abysmally small and that's the bottom line either way; I think only Perkins hires in any real quantity, and even then barely. Moral of the story: you can cast some bids on Seattle firms, and you should mass mail all of them no matter what, but you need a solid alternative city to bid on, and not something equally stupid like Austin.

[Anonymous User]

I got an offer from Perkins with literally zero ties to Seattle or even West coast in general. I think that getting the screener is the hardest part without ties IF you can effectively communicate a narrative of why you want to be in Seattle. However, I was hired for an IP position; so it's entirely possible that there were lower standards as a result. I definitely agree with other posters though: don't put all of your eggs in the Seattle basket.

[Anonymous User]

Don't forget about Fenwick.

[Anonymous User]

I work at K&L and two people in my class got (of 7 or so) got in without any strong ties to the area. One grew up in Idaho (which is close enough to Seattle to argue ties, I guess) and the other one was from Atlanta but worked in Seattle as a 1L (before that she had no ties to Seattle or the northwest at all). I think you need to make it clear in the interview(s) that Seattle is your top choice, you know something about the area and market, and you actually want to live here. Ties are important, but this board sometimes over-emphasizes them.

When I do interviews, I'm far more interested in finding someone with a decent personality and a solid work ethic. That said, I do want Seattle to be your top choice. Mainly because Seattle is awesome.

[Anonymous User]

Anon poster from above who cancelled the CB: I seriously wished the base pay raises had happened before CB season. It was hard to even consider Seattle at 125 once there were non-NY offers available at 160. 145 in Seattle is far more compelling, sigh. Good luck, OP. Bid wisely and make it happen

[Anonymous User]

Also got into Seattle with regional (but non-Seattle) ties, T10. Although the PNW is known to be very slow when it comes to extending CBs/offers, I think it helps to interview as early as possible. Mass mail and make an effort to be in the city/on the West Coast during 1L summer if you don't have strong ties. Granted, if you're IP and/or have a great reason to want to be there that would also help.

Note: At least at my school, Perkins had higher GPA reqs than many other V50 firms (although this just shows how NYC/corporate-centric the Vault rankings are). Just something to keep in mind.

[Anonymous User]

Thank you for all the info.

Do people have a general sense of what it's like to actually practice in Seattle? How do the hours, QOL, clients, pay, etc. compare to BigLaw in other markets?

[Anonymous User]

It is extremely difficult to obtain a job there without ties.

I attended a T14 and was at the very top of my class (as in top 10-15 students). I am from the South but love Seattle and expressed this in all of my screeners. 0 callbacks. FWIW, I am not a poor interviewer and landed lots of offers at top firms in other markets. The only bright spot in this is that, from what I can tell, it is much easier to lateral there than it is to obtain an SA spot there. I would recommend trying to go to Silicon Valley and then lateraling to one of the corporate groups in Seattle. Then again, if the tech market slows in the next few years (as many predict) this might not be a good plan.

Good luck!

Worthless anecdotal counterpoint: Coming from a lower t14 with top third grades and a lot of work experience, I bid on maybe three Seattle firms, got one screener, lucked out and landed the callback with only minor ties (one sibling of spouse and a few friends in the city). I canceled the CB anyway and I prob wouldn't have gotten it, but this board makes it sound impossible. Granted, the overall hiring numbers are abysmally small and that's the bottom line either way; I think only Perkins hires in any real quantity, and even then barely. Moral of the story: you can cast some bids on Seattle firms, and you should mass mail all of them no matter what, but you need a solid alternative city to bid on, and not something equally stupid like Austin.

Poster you quoted that struck out in Seattle. This is actually pretty funny because Austin is another market where I bid, and I got an offer and am now working there as an associate. Not sure if I was able to get Austin and not Seattle because I am from the South (but not TX) or if it was just pure luck, but I think it goes to show that with markets like Seattle and Austin you can't count on anything and will be pretty lucky if you end up with something.

[Anonymous User]

It is extremely difficult to obtain a job there without ties.

I attended a T14 and was at the very top of my class (as in top 10-15 students). I am from the South but love Seattle and expressed this in all of my screeners. 0 callbacks. FWIW, I am not a poor interviewer and landed lots of offers at top firms in other markets. The only bright spot in this is that, from what I can tell, it is much easier to lateral there than it is to obtain an SA spot there. I would recommend trying to go to Silicon Valley and then lateraling to one of the corporate groups in Seattle. Then again, if the tech market slows in the next few years (as many predict) this might not be a good plan.

Good luck!

Worthless anecdotal counterpoint: Coming from a lower t14 with top third grades and a lot of work experience, I bid on maybe three Seattle firms, got one screener, lucked out and landed the callback with only minor ties (one sibling of spouse and a few friends in the city). I canceled the CB anyway and I prob wouldn't have gotten it, but this board makes it sound impossible. Granted, the overall hiring numbers are abysmally small and that's the bottom line either way; I think only Perkins hires in any real quantity, and even then barely. Moral of the story: you can cast some bids on Seattle firms, and you should mass mail all of them no matter what, but you need a solid alternative city to bid on, and not something equally stupid like Austin.

Poster you quoted that struck out in Seattle. This is actually pretty funny because Austin is another market where I bid, and I got an offer and am now working there as an associate. Not sure if I was able to get Austin and not Seattle because I am from the South (but not TX) or if it was just pure luck, but I think it goes to show that with markets like Seattle and Austin you can't count on anything and will be pretty lucky if you end up with something.

The other possibility—which you humbly declined to mention—is that you're just the bees' knees. If you're well qualified on paper and can properly crush your interviews by being, I dunno, genuinely likable and compelling, I get the sense you can vastly outperform all the TLS-imposed risk-averse pseudo-limitations. But most people who come on here looking for advice will be average at socializing (or worse, because they willingly chose the legal field), so in good conscience it's hard to tell them all to shoot for the moon. Congrats on a great outcome, though! (This is the anon who originally quoted you btw).

[Anonymous User]

Numbers off NALP from a year or two ago:
45-50ish total SA positions (depends on whether you can do IP).
Perkins - 16
KL Gates - 7
Foster Pepper - 5
DWT - 4
Others have 1-3: Miller Nash, Dorsey Whitney, Wilson Sonsini, Fenwick Stoel Rives, Hillis Clark, Lane Powell, and a few others.

As above posters said, most people have strong ties to the area. Sometimes, you can make ties by spending 1L summer there, or get a job w/o ties by being super awesome. Whatever your ties, don't put all your eggs in the Seattle basket. Also, there are a LOT of people at seattle firms who lateraled from a big 5 market.

[thanksmeatcat]

I work at K&L and two people in my class got (of 7 or so) got in without any strong ties to the area. One grew up in Idaho (which is close enough to Seattle to argue ties, I guess) and the other one was from Atlanta but worked in Seattle as a 1L (before that she had no ties to Seattle or the northwest at all). I think you need to make it clear in the interview(s) that Seattle is your top choice, you know something about the area and market, and you actually want to live here. Ties are important, but this board sometimes over-emphasizes them.

When I do interviews, I'm far more interested in finding someone with a decent personality and a solid work ethic. That said, I do want Seattle to be your top choice. Mainly because Seattle is awesome.

May I ask the distribution of t14 grads and Seattle schools in firms? I'm from Washington and would like to practice here. I've been admitted to some (lower) t14s as well as UW and I'm wondering what Seattle firms prefer

[rpupkin]

I work at K&L and two people in my class got (of 7 or so) got in without any strong ties to the area. One grew up in Idaho (which is close enough to Seattle to argue ties, I guess) and the other one was from Atlanta but worked in Seattle as a 1L (before that she had no ties to Seattle or the northwest at all). I think you need to make it clear in the interview(s) that Seattle is your top choice, you know something about the area and market, and you actually want to live here. Ties are important, but this board sometimes over-emphasizes them.

When I do interviews, I'm far more interested in finding someone with a decent personality and a solid work ethic. That said, I do want Seattle to be your top choice. Mainly because Seattle is awesome.

May I ask the distribution of t14 grads and Seattle schools in firms? I'm from Washington and would like to practice here. I've been admitted to some (lower) t14s as well as UW and I'm wondering what Seattle firms prefer

Outside of HYS and maybe Berkeley, I don't think it matters which T14 you go to if you're trying to crack the Seattle market.

[Anonymous User]

I work at K&L and two people in my class got (of 7 or so) got in without any strong ties to the area. One grew up in Idaho (which is close enough to Seattle to argue ties, I guess) and the other one was from Atlanta but worked in Seattle as a 1L (before that she had no ties to Seattle or the northwest at all). I think you need to make it clear in the interview(s) that Seattle is your top choice, you know something about the area and market, and you actually want to live here. Ties are important, but this board sometimes over-emphasizes them.

When I do interviews, I'm far more interested in finding someone with a decent personality and a solid work ethic. That said, I do want Seattle to be your top choice. Mainly because Seattle is awesome.

May I ask the distribution of t14 grads and Seattle schools in firms? I'm from Washington and would like to practice here. I've been admitted to some (lower) t14s as well as UW and I'm wondering what Seattle firms prefer

At the top 5-6 Seattle firms, there are roughly equal amounts of T14ers and UW/SU grads. I would assume it's easier to get a SA position from a T14. Even if it wasn't easier, your backup options would be much better from a T14.

[Anonymous User]

PNW markets are hard to get even with people from there who go to T14s and do well. The bottom line is between Portland and Seattle there are only like 45 "biglaw" SAs to be had. A substantial portion go to the top local school kids and diversity hires. The good news is that there are way more lateral hire positions than entry level positions. Often times you have to go work elsewhere for several years before you can get back.

[Anonymous User]

PNW markets are hard to get even with people from there who go to T14s and do well. The bottom line is between Portland and Seattle there are only like 45 "biglaw" SAs to be had. A substantial portion go to the top local school kids and diversity hires. The good news is that there are way more lateral hire positions than entry level positions. Often times you have to go work elsewhere for several years before you can get back.

The bit about lateral hires is true, but a lot of those positions are for very specific practices: patent prosecution and tech transactions are a large part of the lateral market in Seattle.

[Anonymous User]

I absolutely agree that the market can be extremely insular.

After I finish clerking, I plan to return to the PNW and my inquires have been well received.

As one poster mentioned, I am classified as a lateral hire and there is more of a practice area pitch that is occurring than during the SA recruitment. Also, Seattle seems to hire a little later than other markets, which makes for a slightly uneasy process.

Good luck.

[Anonymous User]

Would anyone familiar with the Seattle market for laterals be willing to chat via PM regarding timing, demand for specific practice areas, pay, and hours?

[Anonymous User]

PNW markets are hard to get even with people from there who go to T14s and do well. The bottom line is between Portland and Seattle there are only like 45 "biglaw" SAs to be had. A substantial portion go to the top local school kids and diversity hires. The good news is that there are way more lateral hire positions than entry level positions. Often times you have to go work elsewhere for several years before you can get back.

The bit about lateral hires is true, but a lot of those positions are for very specific practices: patent prosecution and tech transactions are a large part of the lateral market in Seattle.

yep, but all of the groups take more laterals than entry level, it just so happens that tech is whats big there. theres a huge desire to live in portland/seattle, and a bit of brain bleed in that the region shits out a ton of really smart kids who go to top schools but outstrip entry level demand. the result is that they take less, and just catch those kids a few more years into their career after a giant firm in a huge market has sunk all the costs into training them.

[Anonymous User]

FWIW I attended a TTT in a different market, applied broadly with the expectation that I would probably have to work a few years and then lateral into Seattle, and ended up nabbing a Big Law SA using a combination of networking and persistence. I grew up in the PNW but not in Seattle. I attended undergrad in Washington state but not in Seattle.

Odds are probably slim, but the potential upside in securing a Seattle gig outweighs the 5 minutes it will take you to copy and paste the firm's recruiting contact into your form cover letter and hitting "send."

[tonidee]

I am attempting to lateral into the market after I finish a federal clerkship. So far, all of my inquiries have been met with positive responses.

I am originally from Seattle, but I did not attend college or law school in the area. I was a 1L SA at a big law firm in Seattle and opted to go to another market for my 2L SA experience. I've reached out to the folks that I initially met during my 1L year and all seem eager to pitch their firm or practice group. After speaking to a recruiter at one of the big law firms, timing seems to be very important. As the other posters have stated, networking is also a must in Seattle.