V10 NYC vs. Top TX Firm (For corporate / M&A) Forum

[Ajren Robben]

I chose a top Texas firm over a V5 NYC in transactional. Here are my reasons.

-I really don't like NYC and really like TX and have family and connections in TX.

-From what I have heard, you need to start where you want to ultimately end up. Transferring from NYC, and again this is what I have heard, really isn't that easy unless you worked at Wachtell or Cravath.

-Like many have mentioned, money goes way further in TX and allows you to save substantially more. That was maybe the primary reason for my decision.

-Although I have not gotten a good feel of TX hours yet, it is common knowledge that NYC associates work more hours than at any other place. For less pay (effectively).

I will say that NYC probably has better transactional experience (for obvious reasons) and it is much less susceptible to economic downturns (e.g. low oil prices). Still I would chose it only if you really want to live in NYC or really don't want to live in TX.

I realize its probably a regurgitation of things people already said, but here it is from someone who had to make the same decision.


Also, as far as the offer rate, I would not worry too much about it for two reasons. First, If you were good enough to land a V10 offer, you will probably get an offer from a TX firm at the end of the summer. Depending on the school you come from you may not even have to worry about keeping your grades up. Second, from what I read on this forum NYC firms do give cold offers, which is an offer they explicitly tell you they don't want you to accept. Having said that, this was something that made me really scared of choosing TX and made the entire SA very stressful because of the knowledge that the offer was not guaranteed.

You probably made your decision by now and, I would say there probably is not a wrong choice here. Congrats either way!

[Anonymous User]

If your long-term goal is in house in DFW, I think you're better off at a less elite firm and probably better off shifting away from M&A and looking at practice groups like RE, CapM, L&E, Tax, and regulatory-focused groups.

-Big 3 Associate

Would you expand upon this? I'm joining a Dallas firm in one of these practice groups, and I'm a bit surprised to hear this since it seems to cut against conventional wisdom.

[Anonymous User]

If your long-term goal is in house in DFW, I think you're better off at a less elite firm and probably better off shifting away from M&A and looking at practice groups like RE, CapM, L&E, Tax, and regulatory-focused groups.

-Big 3 Associate

Would you expand upon this? I'm joining a Dallas firm in one of these practice groups, and I'm a bit surprised to hear this since it seems to cut against conventional wisdom.

Behind NYC and Houston, DFW has the third highest concentration of F500 headquarters in the country. Additionally, lots of major companies house part or all of their legal departments in DFW (e.g, a major bank just relocated one of its legal groups to DFW).

Smaller and medium size in house legal groups like M&A experience because of the generalist experience that comes with M&A work. Those legal departments need lawyers that can handle a variety of matters because they don't typically have strict specialization a within their legal groups. Big legal departments, especially those with consumer/retail operations, like more specialized experience. Those legal departments will break out into subgroups based on subject matter.

So where as a smaller in house legal department may look to hire an M&A lawyer who can handle a little of everything, big legal departments are more likely to seek out lawyers with more specialized skills.

I'm not saying that M&A is bad for in house in DFW.... And, of course, PE firms always love M&A experience.

[Anonymous User]

Behind NYC and Houston, DFW has the third highest concentration of F500 headquarters in the country. Additionally, lots of major companies house part or all of their legal departments in DFW (e.g, a major bank just relocated one of its legal groups to DFW).

Smaller and medium size in house legal groups like M&A experience because of the generalist experience that comes with M&A work. Those legal departments need lawyers that can handle a variety of matters because they don't typically have strict specialization a within their legal groups. Big legal departments, especially those with consumer/retail operations, like more specialized experience. Those legal departments will break out into subgroups based on subject matter.

So where as a smaller in house legal department may look to hire an M&A lawyer who can handle a little of everything, big legal departments are more likely to seek out lawyers with more specialized skills.

I'm not saying that M&A is bad for in house in DFW.... And, of course, PE firms always love M&A experience.

Thank you for the insight! I didn't think you were saying M&A is bad. I was just intrigued since I'm someone who will be joining one of those smaller, more specialized practice groups you listed in the DFW area.