What do people mean by dream firm? Forum

[vball1]

Sorry, I don't have an Amlaw subscription.

[B.B. Homemaker]

Sorry, I don't have an Amlaw subscription.

Your school should have the hookup. Please, I don't pay for those things.

[Anonymous User]

i'd love for associates to name their dream firm to lateral to

i am guessing less than 3% overlap with firms law students name

Largely my impetus for asking.

cohen milstein is mine

Plaintiffs firms in general I feel have better lifestyle

I don't know if this is true. I had an offer with Lieff Cabraser, and it seemed like they really nickel and dimed their associates. Lots of attorneys were in cubicles, and they told me the firm wouldn't pay for really basic shit. In biglaw I can "splurge" and get something that will help me do the job, and not worry about the firm second guessing me. That's not to say Lieff Cabraser wouldn't be a great job based on what you're doing with your life, compared to the bullshit biglaw lit folks do.

[KidStuddi]

Compare W&C Profits Per Partner to Quinn.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_la ... er_partner

Compare Revenue Per Lawyer to the firms you just listed. Lower Leverage =! working more. Maybe partners at W&C are satisfied with 1.2 mil.

http://www.statista.com/statistics/3191 ... worldwide/

RPL at W&C leads me to believe they may be billing less hours than the firms you have mentioned.

What about a high RPL makes you think that makes you think they don't work their associates harder than the norm for D.C.? The reasons why Quinn is more PPP than W&C are legion, but to grossly simplify it: all billing rates are not created equal and the two firms do not practice the same types of litigation as their primary focuses. What Quinn does (a lot of high stakes litigation) is considerably more profitable than what W&C does (a lot of government investigations and white collar crime) because you can throw an army of junior associates at a case like Apple v. Samsung, have them churning day and night and realize every penny of it. On the other hand, when you're hired to investigate an alleged FCPA violation, even on the bigger matters, you've probably only got enough grunt work for two or three juniors. Where many other D.C. firms would make do with 3 juniors, W&C will do 2 or 1. This isn't a dirty secret either, they proudly advertise their affinity for lean staffing and try and convince young lawyers that they're doing them a favor by giving them "substantive responsibility" early on in their careers.

Regardless, I didn't intend to imply that people don't also work a ton at Quinn and those other firms I listed, merely that they're compensated at above market rates to do so. That isn't the case at W&C except during your 2L summer and maybe your first two years.

[Desert Fox]

Quinn is below market not above. You have to bill 2100 to get the bonus everyone else gets at 1950. And you have to bill 2400 to get a tiny bump.

Dunno why everyone says they are elite or above market

[jbagelboy]

Quinn is below market not above. You have to bill 2100 to get the bonus everyone else gets at 1950. And you have to bill 2400 to get a tiny bump.

Dunno why everyone says they are elite or above market

thank you, I was just going to post this. it's repeated so often that Quinn and to a lesser extent Kirkland are above market that it sinks into people's heads. But they are only above market if you're billing insane hours. Quinn is actually super cheap about a lot of stuff that comes naturally at other firms. You're still doing incredible lit work, so this isn't intended as a hit on them.

Just as a simple example, take the difference between making market lockstep and working 2000 hrs (which is far from unheard of at many of Quinn's peers in CA) and making a few thousand more than market at 2500 hours. Now take 150 of those 500+ hours of your life (cause its more than one life hour per billable) and tutor AP calculus or LSAT prep for $50/hour. You've just made the Quinn (or KE) bonus and more. If money was really that important you could maximize both money and time outside the insane bonus structures

[baal hadad]

Quinn is below market not above. You have to bill 2100 to get the bonus everyone else gets at 1950. And you have to bill 2400 to get a tiny bump.

Dunno why everyone says they are elite or above market

Bc u can roll to work in ur footir pajamas

Very elite

[KidStuddi]

Eh. It might be a little misleading to say they pay above market bonuses in general, but the entire reason I brought up those other firms was to say that other firms that have a reputation for working you to death at least give you more compensation for it. Even if it does end up being largely a token gesture.

[Anonymous User]

dream firm = big law in san diego. i'd kill for that, not gonna lie.

gonna try to move from DC in a few years fo sho.

[Anonymous User]

I am an associate at what I would have called my dream firm, and I would definitely still call it that at a year in. What makes it a "dream firm" is best firm in desired area + good culture. I still think it's a great culture, but I am also shielded in an awesome practice area with great partners.

[vball1]

The lower RPL demonstrates their associates are likely billing less hours than at the firm you mentioned. However, I take your point that to a limited extent due to the nature of some of the work there may be a lower realization rate.