Exit opps for corporate associates at Wachtell, S&C, Cravath, etc. Forum

[Anonymous User]

Easier to go from your t6 -> banking/consulting than from your vault firm to banking/consulting if that's what you're asking.'

Edit: Just saw bottom half of t14. Idk depends on if banking/consulting recruits at your law school. That should be easy to find out.

Odds for someone in the bottom half at Y/S? Ivy UG, not HYP. Worked 1L and 2L summer at different v5s (not WLRK or CSM) and planning on joining one of them full-time next year. Better odds coming out of the firm or should I be trying to line something up ASAP as a 3L?

General feeling you'll see on these boards is that it's really hard to move from a legal position to non-legal business role. Did you already miss any OCI that consulting/ finance/ PE firms do at your school? Thought those places hired in the early fall.

This is probably the best thread on the topic:
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 4&t=238993

OP above, thanks for the info. A handful of banks and MBB did have formal application but for summer 2L internships for which I never applied.

Part of the reason I didn't explore options more during 2L is because I knew so many jd/mbas going the BigLaw route, though this may not have been by choice. I also know a few, including non-mbas, who hated their 2L non-legal internships and switched to BigLaw during 3L.

Re PE, only know of one classmate going on to a non-traditonal role at middle-market firm through a family connection. MBAs I've spoken to here seem to have a tough time landing PE as well, even the ones who worked in PE before school. The slim number of JDs and JD/MBAs I know going directly into PE are headed for compliance roles at big firms.

[throwaway_]

Easier to go from your t6 -> banking/consulting than from your vault firm to banking/consulting if that's what you're asking.'

Edit: Just saw bottom half of t14. Idk depends on if banking/consulting recruits at your law school. That should be easy to find out.

Odds for someone in the bottom half at Y/S? Ivy UG, not HYP. Worked 1L and 2L summer at different v5s (not WLRK or CSM) and planning on joining one of them full-time next year. Better odds coming out of the firm or should I be trying to line something up ASAP as a 3L?

General feeling you'll see on these boards is that it's really hard to move from a legal position to non-legal business role. Did you already miss any OCI that consulting/ finance/ PE firms do at your school? Thought those places hired in the early fall.

This is probably the best thread on the topic:
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 4&t=238993

OP above, thanks for the info. A handful of banks and MBB did have formal application but for summer 2L internships for which I never applied.

Part of the reason I didn't explore options more during 2L is because I knew so many jd/mbas going the BigLaw route, though this may not have been by choice. I also know a few, including non-mbas, who hated their 2L non-legal internships and switched to BigLaw during 3L.

Re PE, only know of one classmate going on to a non-traditonal role at middle-market firm through a family connection. MBAs I've spoken to here seem to have a tough time landing PE as well, even the ones who worked in PE before school. The slim number of JDs and JD/MBAs I know going directly into PE are headed for compliance roles at big firms.

At this point, MBB/IB full-time recruiting is completely done. I'd focus on networking with alums and applying next cycle as a biglaw associate (hard, but it only gets harder).

ETA: Grades from a T6 are irrelevant.

[Anonymous User]

Easier to go from your t6 -> banking/consulting than from your vault firm to banking/consulting if that's what you're asking.'

At this point, MBB/IB full-time recruiting is completely done. I'd focus on networking with alums and applying next cycle as a biglaw associate (hard, but it only gets harder).

ETA: Grades from a T6 are irrelevant.

Super helpful, thank you, but also super depressing to hear.

I'd love to give biglaw a try because I really enjoyed the work and people (albeit it only at one of the firms I summered), but TLS worries me I'll be stuck practicing law my whole career. It seems like it was more common in years past for people to make a switch, especially after a few years of biglaw--just going off what I've been exposed to through professors, mentors and networking, etc.

[Anonymous User]

Easier to go from your t6 -> banking/consulting than from your vault firm to banking/consulting if that's what you're asking.'

At this point, MBB/IB full-time recruiting is completely done. I'd focus on networking with alums and applying next cycle as a biglaw associate (hard, but it only gets harder).

ETA: Grades from a T6 are irrelevant.

Super helpful, thank you, but also super depressing to hear.

I'd love to give biglaw a try because I really enjoyed the work and people (albeit it only at one of the firms I summered), but TLS worries me I'll be stuck practicing law my whole career. It seems like it was more common in years past for people to make a switch, especially after a few years of biglaw--just going off what I've been exposed to through professors, mentors and networking, etc.

I'd be curious if anyone had experience trying to get a job at lower-level consulting/ finance places after working biglaw. There's a lot of focus on MBB and bulge bracket when we talk about these positions on TLS, but I wonder if it's easier to break into lower-tier firms on Vault's consulting firm list or smaller finance/banking firms. Granted you start to take a bigger pay cut and the work may not be as interesting. Anon from above (worked at a V50-type consulting firm before LS) and I ran into multiple JDs who had consulting roles, usually from T40-type law schools (though they were generally a bit older, so it's possible they just transitioned when the job market was different).

[Anonymous User]

Easier to go from your t6 -> banking/consulting than from your vault firm to banking/consulting if that's what you're asking.'

At this point, MBB/IB full-time recruiting is completely done. I'd focus on networking with alums and applying next cycle as a biglaw associate (hard, but it only gets harder).

ETA: Grades from a T6 are irrelevant.

Super helpful, thank you, but also super depressing to hear.

I'd love to give biglaw a try because I really enjoyed the work and people (albeit it only at one of the firms I summered), but TLS worries me I'll be stuck practicing law my whole career. It seems like it was more common in years past for people to make a switch, especially after a few years of biglaw--just going off what I've been exposed to through professors, mentors and networking, etc.

Also don't let what you read on an anonymous Internet forum stop you from trying. After ur in big law if you want to switch you should try. Just because it didn't happen for the people active in this forum or those they know doesn't mean it's not possible, probably just difficult

[Anonymous User]

Also don't let what you read on an anonymous Internet forum stop you from trying. After ur in big law if you want to switch you should try. Just because it didn't happen for the people active in this forum or those they know doesn't mean it's not possible, probably just difficult

This. Biglaw junior here trying to break into MBB, personally know a few people who made it either directly from my law school or from v10 as junior/mid lvls (they all happen to be in NYC).

JDs (as still in law school) to McK and BCG are probably easier than to Bain, advanced degree interviews usually take place Sep - Nov, you can apply online before their deadlines, but you need a few months to prepare for their behavior questions and case interviews.
Once you get into biglaw, you are considered an experienced hire, it becomes on a rolling basis and there's no specific timeframe, same as law firm lateral (but check with HRs). Some might get an offer within a few weeks, others might need a few months.
If your school has a target bschool for MBB (Wharton, Booth, Kellogg, etc.) then def reach out to your alums, having an internal referral would greatly help your application.

[throwaway_]

Super helpful, thank you, but also super depressing to hear.

I'd love to give biglaw a try because I really enjoyed the work and people (albeit it only at one of the firms I summered), but TLS worries me I'll be stuck practicing law my whole career. It seems like it was more common in years past for people to make a switch, especially after a few years of biglaw--just going off what I've been exposed to through professors, mentors and networking, etc.

Absolutely give biglaw a fair shot! TLS is way too negative on biglaw as a career. But I'd try to make a decision sooner rather than later just because you'll get zero credit when it comes to transferring seniority if you do make the switch.

I don't know if it was easier to move across back then. Maybe compared to pre-2008 finance, since general hiring has become more constrained, and that obviously has a disproportionate effect on non-traditional (i.e. JD) applicants. Banking or consulting, there definitely aren't any guarantees, but with your HYS->V5 pedigree you'll have as good a shot as anyone else gunning for these jobs. Good luck!

[Yukos]

In this world nothing can be certain except death, taxes, and TLS threads devolving into corporate practice group dick-measuring contests.

[ArtistOfManliness]

In this world nothing can be certain except death, taxes, and TLS threads devolving into corporate practice group dick-measuring contests.

Benny was quite wise.

[jbagelboy]

In this world nothing can be certain except death, taxes, and TLS threads devolving into corporate practice group dick-measuring contests.

It really is amazing how every big new york firm wants to be special as though its not fully interchangeable and equivalent to its peers. And associates and law students cling vociferously to the mythology of an employer they basically selected out of a hat at OCI.

[Anonymous User]

How much does the penumbra of prestige trickle down to a first, second, or third year associate?

[Anonymous User]

How much does the penumbra of prestige trickle down to a first, second, or third year associate?

First years are into it because they are still coming off the high of the law school fake prestige chase, second years use it as a coping mechanism/rationalization for how shitty their lives have become, and third years understand how bullshit it is and completely abandon it except for when they have to drag themselves to recruiting events and offer dinners for which they have canned lines about reputation that are regurgitated to mask how little it matters

[jkpolk]

How much does the penumbra of prestige trickle down to a first, second, or third year associate?

First years are into it because they are still coming off the high of the law school fake prestige chase, second years use it as a coping mechanism/rationalization for how shitty their lives have become, and third years understand how bullshit it is and completely abandon it except for when they have to drag themselves to recruiting events and offer dinners for which they have canned lines about reputation that are regurgitated to mask how little it matters

This is how I see it as well