How to pick a market? Forum

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OakBrook2021

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How to pick a market?

Post by OakBrook2021 » Sun Dec 09, 2018 11:49 pm

This is early, but it can help in deciding my summer job.How does where I want to live factor into what I want to do with my JD? I want to live in my hometown secondary market long-term, but am interested in corporate. There is some corp work there but it is mostly mid-market, and it's scarce (not alot of associates and most if not all are generalists). Is it best to try and end up in NY for the training/experience and then lateral after 2-3 years, or go straight to my home market if I can find a transactional gig? Would starting in NY affect partnership or in house prospects? There seems to be a decent amount of F500 in house positions in my home market so I'm too not concerned about getting pushed out of biglaw and into shitlaw or another industry.

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cavalier1138

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Re: How to pick a market?

Post by cavalier1138 » Mon Dec 10, 2018 7:02 am

My instinct is that if you want to end up in this region, you should take a job there if the opportunity arises. But you'll need to do some specific research on the market you're targeting, because there's no single answer to this question. Find attorneys in the positions/tracks you're interested in and ask them if the lateral from NY is realistic.

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Re: How to pick a market?

Post by Npret » Mon Dec 10, 2018 7:19 am

OakBrook2021 wrote:This is early, but it can help in deciding my summer job.How does where I want to live factor into what I want to do with my JD? I want to live in my hometown secondary market long-term, but am interested in corporate. There is some corp work there but it is mostly mid-market, and it's scarce (not alot of associates and most if not all are generalists). Is it best to try and end up in NY for the training/experience and then lateral after 2-3 years, or go straight to my home market if I can find a transactional gig? Would starting in NY affect partnership or in house prospects? There seems to be a decent amount of F500 in house positions in my home market so I'm too not concerned about getting pushed out of biglaw and into shitlaw or another industry.
Are you talking about this summer or next summer?
If next summer, do you have any grades?
Your priority is getting a job so I’m going to suggest you look at New York because it’s the largest market. You need to focus your search to put you in the best position of having a job when you graduate.

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OakBrook2021

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Re: How to pick a market?

Post by OakBrook2021 » Mon Dec 10, 2018 10:56 am

cavalier1138 wrote:My instinct is that if you want to end up in this region, you should take a job there if the opportunity arises. But you'll need to do some specific research on the market you're targeting, because there's no single answer to this question. Find attorneys in the positions/tracks you're interested in and ask them if the lateral from NY is realistic.
It's a mixture of people going straight there and people lateraling from NY. It seems like many lateral in because they can't crack the market the first time around due to lack of ties or grades, none of which will be a real problem for me for various reasons. Just wondering if going to NY for 2-3 years is worth it for the training/experience, even if small market is where I will end up. Those 2-3 years could be spent in the small market working on less "sexy" deals, but also networking and paying off loans ALOT quicker; maybe even starting to build a book of business given my professional network in the area

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OakBrook2021

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Re: How to pick a market?

Post by OakBrook2021 » Mon Dec 10, 2018 11:02 am

Npret wrote:
OakBrook2021 wrote:This is early, but it can help in deciding my summer job.How does where I want to live factor into what I want to do with my JD? I want to live in my hometown secondary market long-term, but am interested in corporate. There is some corp work there but it is mostly mid-market, and it's scarce (not alot of associates and most if not all are generalists). Is it best to try and end up in NY for the training/experience and then lateral after 2-3 years, or go straight to my home market if I can find a transactional gig? Would starting in NY affect partnership or in house prospects? There seems to be a decent amount of F500 in house positions in my home market so I'm too not concerned about getting pushed out of biglaw and into shitlaw or another industry.
Are you talking about this summer or next summer?
If next summer, do you have any grades?
Your priority is getting a job so I’m going to suggest you look at New York because it’s the largest market. You need to focus your search to put you in the best position of having a job when you graduate.
Not too worried luckily v10 firms dip well below median at my school; firms in my home market more so. Just need to not do really bad and interview decent to have offers at good firms in both

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Re: How to pick a market?

Post by Npret » Mon Dec 10, 2018 11:05 am

OakBrook2021 wrote:
Npret wrote:
OakBrook2021 wrote:This is early, but it can help in deciding my summer job.How does where I want to live factor into what I want to do with my JD? I want to live in my hometown secondary market long-term, but am interested in corporate. There is some corp work there but it is mostly mid-market, and it's scarce (not alot of associates and most if not all are generalists). Is it best to try and end up in NY for the training/experience and then lateral after 2-3 years, or go straight to my home market if I can find a transactional gig? Would starting in NY affect partnership or in house prospects? There seems to be a decent amount of F500 in house positions in my home market so I'm too not concerned about getting pushed out of biglaw and into shitlaw or another industry.
Are you talking about this summer or next summer?
If next summer, do you have any grades?
Your priority is getting a job so I’m going to suggest you look at New York because it’s the largest market. You need to focus your search to put you in the best position of having a job

Not too worried luckily v10 firms dip well below median at my school; firms in my home market more so. Just need to not do really bad and interview decent to have offers at good firms in both
Friendly advice - don’t count on that V10 job so easily. You’re still just an unemployed 1L.

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OakBrook2021

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Re: How to pick a market?

Post by OakBrook2021 » Mon Dec 10, 2018 12:24 pm

Npret wrote:
OakBrook2021 wrote:
Npret wrote:
OakBrook2021 wrote:This is early, but it can help in deciding my summer job.How does where I want to live factor into what I want to do with my JD? I want to live in my hometown secondary market long-term, but am interested in corporate. There is some corp work there but it is mostly mid-market, and it's scarce (not alot of associates and most if not all are generalists). Is it best to try and end up in NY for the training/experience and then lateral after 2-3 years, or go straight to my home market if I can find a transactional gig? Would starting in NY affect partnership or in house prospects? There seems to be a decent amount of F500 in house positions in my home market so I'm too not concerned about getting pushed out of biglaw and into shitlaw or another industry.
Are you talking about this summer or next summer?
If next summer, do you have any grades?
Your priority is getting a job so I’m going to suggest you look at New York because it’s the largest market. You need to focus your search to put you in the best position of having a job

Not too worried luckily v10 firms dip well below median at my school; firms in my home market more so. Just need to not do really bad and interview decent to have offers at good firms in both
Friendly advice - don’t count on that V10 job so easily. You’re still just an unemployed 1L.
I'm not counting on it, just meant I'm not too worried (at this moment) about being employed at graduation. Striking out at EIP is an anomaly. I'm networking and mass mailing too, not just banking on preftige for an offer. Didn't mean to sound arrogant, but a biglaw job at HYS isn't that hard to come by; the opportunities seem to be there for people who try.

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Re: How to pick a market?

Post by cavalier1138 » Mon Dec 10, 2018 1:39 pm

I'd still trust the goal market. If you see people on the long-term career track you want who came from NYC jobs, then it sounds like you can safely spend a few years in NY before lateraling.

But ultimately, if you know you want to live in [insert region here], why not go for it right out of the gates? I doubt that NY laterals get preferential treatment in hiring, no matter where you are.

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Re: How to pick a market?

Post by Npret » Mon Dec 10, 2018 1:49 pm

cavalier1138 wrote:I'd still trust the goal market. If you see people on the long-term career track you want who came from NYC jobs, then it sounds like you can safely spend a few years in NY before lateraling.

But ultimately, if you know you want to live in [insert region here], why not go for it right out of the gates? I doubt that NY laterals get preferential treatment in hiring, no matter where you are.
OP said that the secondary market doesn’t have corporate work they want. I guess OP will have to figure this one out. I would always recommend NYC just for the corporate experience. I’ve lived here my entire life though so I’m hugely biased.

OP is probably right - a Harvard grad can get a biglaw corporate gig reasonably easily. Just remember: People do strike out. Yale is harder because they are seen as special snowflakes. Don’t know about Stanford.

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OakBrook2021

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Re: How to pick a market?

Post by OakBrook2021 » Mon Dec 10, 2018 4:56 pm

Yeah I guess my question is more so whether it is worth it to start in NY in terms of career advancement. Will the training be that much better? Will the skills I learn make me that much more marketable for partnership (or a corporate counsel position) in my home market? Staying in NY long term is not an option (unless the alternative is unemployment) and I'd rather avoid NY entirely unless I'd be significantly less proficient than my colleagues that lateraled in from NY.

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Re: How to pick a market?

Post by Cicero76 » Mon Dec 10, 2018 6:05 pm

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