Is Miami biglaw still 'that' competitive? Forum

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Re: Is Miami biglaw still 'that' competitive?

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:51 pm

Anonymous User wrote:I’m sort of surprised to see Akerman mentioned in the same league as HK, Weil, et al. Every time I see them in court they’re representing plaintiffs in garbage litigation just a tad more sophisticated than PI. Maybe my observations arn’t representative, but they’re frequent enough that I wonder what Akerman’s deal is.
Anon Miami associate.

Akerman has a couple weird practice groups and I think I know which one you’re talking about. Even within the firm, I believe it has a billable requirement that is significantly higher than other associates.

The rest of the firm is decent to good though. If you’re only in state court doing civil lit, you probably only know about that group.

I think in FL Chambers, it’s tier 1 in M&A/Corporate.

It’s not on the same tier as Weil, but I’d only put it slightly below HK and GT and slightly above Gunster.

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Re: Is Miami biglaw still 'that' competitive?

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jan 19, 2019 12:36 am

Median at T13 with really strong ties that went through interviews with all of the Miami big firms.. And got 0 offers. Pretty much the same story with all of the other people that I knew with somewhat comparable grades and good ties.

So yes, it is still really hard to crack into if you aren't top of the class at UM

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Re: Is Miami biglaw still 'that' competitive?

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Jan 20, 2019 12:14 pm

Curious about lateral options later. I’m at CCN, top 10%, strong strong Florida ties. Got no Miami offers from OCI. Now I’m going to a NYC V5. Assuming I want Miami in a few years, is it still as hard?

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Re: Is Miami biglaw still 'that' competitive?

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Jan 20, 2019 2:11 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Curious about lateral options later. I’m at CCN, top 10%, strong strong Florida ties. Got no Miami offers from OCI. Now I’m going to a NYC V5. Assuming I want Miami in a few years, is it still as hard?
I work at one of the firms in Miami.

Generally speaking, it’ll be harder (and probably not advisable) to lateral to one of the smaller market-paying firms. As mentioned throughout this thread and other Miami threads, a lot of those firms are service arms of their NY offices. So they won’t need as many people (or want to pay a senior) and they have abysmal partnership odds.

My firm has had a significant increase in the number of t6 laterals lately. Most are in corporate and came to Miami to get away from the 2300-2400 hour billables they had in NY.

Most are not from Miami or even Florida. So if you have roots here, I’m sure you’d have a better chance.

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Re: Is Miami biglaw still 'that' competitive?

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jan 26, 2019 2:53 pm

Any more updates on Miami salary increases since Holland and Knight? Seems strange that Greenberg is silent... any increase from Bilzin? I’m thinking of lateraling within the market to a higher paying firm and want to see what the options are.

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Re: Is Miami biglaw still 'that' competitive?

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jan 26, 2019 8:12 pm

No official firm-wide matches yet. This happened last time, though. Firms dragged their feet until the market forced them to match. But as a lateral, you shouldn’t be concerned cuz you’ll be brought it at the high end of their internal ranges.

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Re: Is Miami biglaw still 'that' competitive?

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jan 26, 2019 8:20 pm

Sorry I misread your last post. Thought you’d be lateraling into the market. So ignore that.

All in, Bilzin, Akerman, and GT appear to be paying similarly. HK jumped them recently. So they’ll likely have to narrrow that gap soon. But even then those 4 would still be well behind other firms in the area. Of course, working at the higher-paying, V50+ firms would require accepting significant trade offs, like hours, partnership chances, and role.

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Re: Is Miami biglaw still 'that' competitive?

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jan 26, 2019 8:23 pm

Anonymous User wrote:No official firm-wide matches yet. This happened last time, though. Firms dragged their feet until the market forced them to match. But as a lateral, you shouldn’t be concerned cuz you’ll be brought it at the high end of their internal ranges.
I heard from a friend that akerman has a retreat or something Friday for associates. Maybe they will announce there and Greenberg will then have no way to not raise.

The market is moving slowly. And the reason I want to wait is because one of my friends recently lateraled to Holland and Knight in a different office before their raise and thought s/he was shafted because not every class year gets the same bump when the adjustment happens. And Holland and Knight is kind of a blackbox

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Re: Is Miami biglaw still 'that' competitive?

Post by sflyr2016 » Sat Jan 26, 2019 8:37 pm

Above poster is right. But there’s ways to negotiate around that. Can share a bit more on that experience via DM. Feel free to msg me.

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Re: Is Miami biglaw still 'that' competitive?

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Feb 04, 2019 2:13 pm

Any updates regarding Miami market salaries? Has GT finally raised? Interview coming up soon and want to know generally what range I should be negotiating

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Re: Is Miami biglaw still 'that' competitive?

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Feb 04, 2019 2:45 pm

Morgan Lewis (1900 hrs bonus) and W&C (2000 hrs bonus) are both NY comp base plus bonus. Both are actively hiring.

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Re: Is Miami biglaw still 'that' competitive?

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Feb 04, 2019 2:47 pm

H&K raised to 180k but the year to year base increase isn't lockstep and is highly compressed.

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Re: Is Miami biglaw still 'that' competitive?

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Feb 04, 2019 3:12 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Morgan Lewis (1900 hrs bonus) and W&C (2000 hrs bonus) are both NY comp base plus bonus. Both are actively hiring.
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Re: Is Miami biglaw still 'that' competitive?

Post by miamifalcon123 » Mon Feb 04, 2019 7:37 pm

Generally, top Miami firms are hiring for all positions... even if they are not advertised. You should reach out directly to attorneys at the firm, especially if you are lateraling from a top NYC shop and have some pedigree law degree.

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Re: Chances of landing Miami Biglaw (lateral)

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Mar 02, 2019 11:09 pm

Looking to lateral to Miami. Stats are below. Anyone have an idea as to what my chances are of getting an offer in the next few months?

Current Employment: NYC V50
Class Year: 2017
Law School: Lower T14
LGPA: ~top 14%
Law School Honors: Cum laude
Journal: Yes - Main journal
Undergrad: In FL
Ties: Strong - Grew up in central FL, have family in south FL, have spent significant time in south FL

RedPurpleBlue

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Re: Is Miami biglaw still 'that' competitive?

Post by RedPurpleBlue » Sun Mar 03, 2019 9:46 am

Anonymous User wrote:Looking to lateral to Miami. Stats are below. Anyone have an idea as to what my chances are of getting an offer in the next few months?

Current Employment: NYC V50
Class Year: 2017
Law School: Lower T14
LGPA: ~top 14%
Law School Honors: Cum laude
Journal: Yes - Main journal
Undergrad: In FL
Ties: Strong - Grew up in central FL, have family in south FL, have spent significant time in south FL
Honestly, you check the ties/prestige boxes. I think the most important thing at this point is what kind of work you want to do and what class year you are. You'd probably need to share that information to get any sort of useful assessment.

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Re: Chances of landing Miami Biglaw (lateral)

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Mar 03, 2019 1:42 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Looking to lateral to Miami. Stats are below. Anyone have an idea as to what my chances are of getting an offer in the next few months?

Current Employment: NYC V50
Class Year: 2017
Law School: Lower T14
LGPA: ~top 14%
Law School Honors: Cum laude
Journal: Yes - Main journal
Undergrad: In FL
Ties: Strong - Grew up in central FL, have family in south FL, have spent significant time in south FL
Miami associate here. Are you in corporate? You can probably lateral to any firm down here. I think all of them are actively hiring. Try at the market paying firms then move your way down.

Weil, McDermott, MLB, then probably White and Case, then Holland & Knight > GT > Bilzin/Akerman > Gunster/Shutts

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Anonymous User
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Re: Chances of landing Miami Biglaw (lateral)

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Mar 03, 2019 2:44 pm

If original anon is corporate, Weil and MLB probably aren’t good options.
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Looking to lateral to Miami. Stats are below. Anyone have an idea as to what my chances are of getting an offer in the next few months?

Current Employment: NYC V50
Class Year: 2017
Law School: Lower T14
LGPA: ~top 14%
Law School Honors: Cum laude
Journal: Yes - Main journal
Undergrad: In FL
Ties: Strong - Grew up in central FL, have family in south FL, have spent significant time in south FL
Miami associate here. Are you in corporate? You can probably lateral to any firm down here. I think all of them are actively hiring. Try at the market paying firms then move your way down.

Weil, McDermott, MLB, then probably White and Case, then Holland & Knight > GT > Bilzin/Akerman > Gunster/Shutts

sflyr2016

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Re: Chances of landing Miami Biglaw (lateral)

Post by sflyr2016 » Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:28 pm

I work at one of the firms listed above and you may fit (depending on practice area) what they're currently looking for, at least on paper. Shoot me a direct msg if interested in talking about that in more detail, as well as general input about the other Miami firms you may be considering.
Anonymous User wrote:Looking to lateral to Miami. Stats are below. Anyone have an idea as to what my chances are of getting an offer in the next few months?

Current Employment: NYC V50
Class Year: 2017
Law School: Lower T14
LGPA: ~top 14%
Law School Honors: Cum laude
Journal: Yes - Main journal
Undergrad: In FL
Ties: Strong - Grew up in central FL, have family in south FL, have spent significant time in south FL

Anonymous User
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Re: Is Miami biglaw still 'that' competitive?

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Mar 03, 2019 4:14 pm

RedPurpleBlue wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Looking to lateral to Miami. Stats are below. Anyone have an idea as to what my chances are of getting an offer in the next few months?

Current Employment: NYC V50
Class Year: 2017
Law School: Lower T14
LGPA: ~top 14%
Law School Honors: Cum laude
Journal: Yes - Main journal
Undergrad: In FL
Ties: Strong - Grew up in central FL, have family in south FL, have spent significant time in south FL
Honestly, you check the ties/prestige boxes. I think the most important thing at this point is what kind of work you want to do and what class year you are. You'd probably need to share that information to get any sort of useful assessment.
Thanks. I've been working in lev fin since I started, but have worked closely with our PE M&A teams, and I'd be fine branching into M&A/general corporate (would also be fine transitioning completely to M&A/general corporate, but not sure firms are looking for someone my year to make that type of switch).

Anonymous User
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Re: Chances of landing Miami Biglaw (lateral)

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Mar 03, 2019 4:17 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Looking to lateral to Miami. Stats are below. Anyone have an idea as to what my chances are of getting an offer in the next few months?

Current Employment: NYC V50
Class Year: 2017
Law School: Lower T14
LGPA: ~top 14%
Law School Honors: Cum laude
Journal: Yes - Main journal
Undergrad: In FL
Ties: Strong - Grew up in central FL, have family in south FL, have spent significant time in south FL
Miami associate here. Are you in corporate? You can probably lateral to any firm down here. I think all of them are actively hiring. Try at the market paying firms then move your way down.

Weil, McDermott, MLB, then probably White and Case, then Holland & Knight > GT > Bilzin/Akerman > Gunster/Shutts
Thanks, I just mentioned this to the poster above, but wanted to reply to anyone who's willing to offer any advice. I've been working in lev fin since I started, but have worked closely with our PE M&A teams, and I'd be fine branching into M&A/general corporate (would also be fine transitioning completely to M&A/general corporate, but not sure firms are looking for someone my year to make that type of switch).

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Anonymous User
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Re: Chances of landing Miami Biglaw (lateral)

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Mar 03, 2019 4:19 pm

Anonymous User wrote:If original anon is corporate, Weil and MLB probably aren’t good options.
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Looking to lateral to Miami. Stats are below. Anyone have an idea as to what my chances are of getting an offer in the next few months?

Current Employment: NYC V50
Class Year: 2017
Law School: Lower T14
LGPA: ~top 14%
Law School Honors: Cum laude
Journal: Yes - Main journal
Undergrad: In FL
Ties: Strong - Grew up in central FL, have family in south FL, have spent significant time in south FL
Miami associate here. Are you in corporate? You can probably lateral to any firm down here. I think all of them are actively hiring. Try at the market paying firms then move your way down.

Weil, McDermott, MLB, then probably White and Case, then Holland & Knight > GT > Bilzin/Akerman > Gunster/Shutts
Thanks. Would you mind shedding some light on Weil and MLB? I've heard good things about their corp practices in NYC, but know nothing about their MIA practices.

Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Chances of landing Miami Biglaw (lateral)

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Mar 03, 2019 4:42 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:If original anon is corporate, Weil and MLB probably aren’t good options.
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Looking to lateral to Miami. Stats are below. Anyone have an idea as to what my chances are of getting an offer in the next few months?

Current Employment: NYC V50
Class Year: 2017
Law School: Lower T14
LGPA: ~top 14%
Law School Honors: Cum laude
Journal: Yes - Main journal
Undergrad: In FL
Ties: Strong - Grew up in central FL, have family in south FL, have spent significant time in south FL
Miami associate here. Are you in corporate? You can probably lateral to any firm down here. I think all of them are actively hiring. Try at the market paying firms then move your way down.

Weil, McDermott, MLB, then probably White and Case, then Holland & Knight > GT > Bilzin/Akerman > Gunster/Shutts
Thanks. Would you mind shedding some light on Weil and MLB? I've heard good things about their corp practices in NYC, but know nothing about their MIA practices.
They have tiny practices, but I believe they both had a handful of corporate attorneys in Miami. Obviously I wouldn’t consider going there if you’re trying to stay at one firm forever. If that’s the case, one of the Miami firms is better.

FLBAR0718

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Re: Is Miami biglaw still 'that' competitive?

Post by FLBAR0718 » Sun Mar 03, 2019 4:47 pm

I don’t think Weil does ANY corporate work in Miami.

If you check chambers, you will get a general lay of the land. I think McDermott has been growing its Miami office.

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Re: Is Miami biglaw still 'that' competitive?

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Mar 03, 2019 6:56 pm

V5 corporate associate, HYS alum, Florida ties. Interested to know if top Miami corporate practices (HK, Greenberg) match NY base/bonus on a case by case basis. No plans of lateraling from current firm at the moment as experience/culture/team is great, but may want to move for personal reasons at some point.

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