Does practicing in Cali (LA) give Asians better chance than in other states? Forum

[kmla14han]

Condition: Ceteris Paribus, Compared to Atlanta, GA.

[Abraham Lincoln Uni.]

Practicing in California does not necessarily mean there is higher employment for Asians when compared to other states. It depends on which area of law you are interested in going into and which sector of the community you would like to focus on. It also helps if you speak another language other than English when applying for jobs.

It is best to research job postings in both states and seeing which state meets your needs and interests.

[bobbyflayed]

I am a Asian-American at MVP who summered in NYC biglaw and I am now heading to a V5 LA biglaw office. I can only speak for NYC but I imagine that GA has similar issues with entrenched social networks.

I do think that working in LA gives Asians a better chance. I think I am a pretty outgoing, non-nerdy Asian and I got along well with the partners and associates, but it seemed like the weight of history on the East Coast puts a significant damper on business development prospects.

As a summer, I noticed that many clients and the associates/partners who serviced them were connected through a dense web of private prep schools, old social networks, and very particular Ivies. While LA, like any major city, has established power players it is a mid-market town. While connections are really important, I don't think they are as prohibitive as they are in NYC in the long term. Furthermore, from a completely anecdotal point of view there seems to be higher percentage of Asian partners to associates in LA than in NYC.

I've grown up in primarily mixed-raced communities and I went to an UG where there were very few asians so I actually feel weird even pointing this out. However, the ubiquity of the Asian American community in Los Angeles seems to put us at an advantage. Many of the cities high incoming earning bracket are first generation Asian American immigrants. This is reflected in the financial institutions in LA as well. Unlike East Coast Ivies who have generally capped Asian students at about 20%, PE funds, VC funds, IBs, and strategics have to source many of their analysts/associates from UCLA, USC, Berkeley, and Stanford. Some of these west coast feeder schools have student populations that are nearing 50% Asian American. Accordingly, our main clients have more Asian Americans. This seems to indicate that there will be less of a barrier to business development moving forward.

Having said all this, you called it "Cali" which makes me think you're not from California. This whole discussion is probably moot since you'll be questioned out the ass about your ties to the state.

[CPAlawHopefu]

If you are planning on going sole practice, without a doubt YES. The abundance of Asian clientele will work to your advantage. Even if you plan to go in-house or join a firm, the chance is that almost every where you go there will be a Partner with Asian background, which is a reflection of the lack of the glass ceiling for Asian practitioners here.

SoCal or even NorCal (this is what the locals call it, not "Cali", but at least you didn't call it a La La Land ) is relatively color-blind compared to other cities, and Asian yuppies in particular get as much recognition as their White counterparts when it comes to achievements and status attainment.

[kmla14han]

Sorry for the late reply. What if I will be attending UCLA/USC? Would employers still grill me with questions about "ties"?