Big 4? How? Why? When? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I walked out of the in-house interview without an offer (was interviewing for a summer internship). I read somewhere that some people get offers for the internships during the interview or hours after.

Am I f&$%ed or should I take a chill pill since it has been one day and it's the weekend? I can't find anything regarding the timeline on TLS. Maybe I'm just going crazy. That's what 40+ rejections does to a person.

I was told by a partner that I interviewed with at the end of the interview that they will be extending me an offer. I did not receive the official offer until about a week later.

[Anonymous User]

Got a callback today for November 4th, hope to see some of you guys there!

When did you apply?

According to my school's Symplicity, I initially applied on Sept. 3rd.

[Anonymous User]

Just finished up with the EY interview... really liked everyone in the office.

the group lunch was definitely awkward, though.

Has anyone heard back yet?

[Anonymous User]

At my school, 2 people did EY interviews. I got dinged last week and my friend got an offer. We both did our in house interviews the week before. Hope that helps.

ETA: This is for 2L summer.

[ManoftheHour]

Tag.

[Anonymous User]

Working in a firm this summer but very keen on moving to big 4 as a 3L full time. Wondering if doing this is career suicide. I know that I will likely not be able to move into biglaw which is a-okay by me, but what are the exit options for JDs in these sort of roles (regulation and tax)? How hard is it to move into advisory and completely cut ties with the JD? Are there opportunities to go corporate as in-house consul?

[Anonymous User]

Working in a firm this summer but very keen on moving to big 4 as a 3L full time. Wondering if doing this is career suicide. I know that I will likely not be able to move into biglaw which is a-okay by me, but what are the exit options for JDs in these sort of roles (regulation and tax)? How hard is it to move into advisory and completely cut ties with the JD? Are there opportunities to go corporate as in-house consul?

I worked at a B4 this summer, and recently interviewed for a different B4. I think the short answer is it depends on your practice and your market.

I know of people who went in house as tax managers from my summer job. And there are opportunities for positions within the IRS, govt., etc. A few people transferred to mid law/regional big law.

The firm interviewed with had people going to big law after (several) years as of counsel; and also several people transferring to their management consulting side.

[taxberg1]

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[BizBro]

Does big 4 take refugees from big law, i.e. laterals? If so, would you have to had done tax at your law firm? Does it even make sense to pick big 4 over in-house when you lateral? I don't know what kind of hours and salary big 4 in NYC entails for a more experienced hire, compared to the low(er) 100k starting salaries mentioned on this thread.

[Anonymous User]

Ding from EY TT today... came over email.

[SophisticatedCat]

I was hoping if anyone could comment on practices other than Tax, and how having a J.D. would help. I am currently thinking about doing something in bankruptcy/restructuring and the Big 4 accounting firms, depending on the office, have a strong presence in that field.

[Anonymous User]

Have been with a Big 4 (D) for almost two years. I make nowhere near 100k in Chi so going to be looking at lateraling to a different Big 4 very soon if these salaries are real - I knew PwC paid more, but I didn't know it was that much more. As far as exit opps to big law, I made it to the final round at one of the best firms for tax but didn't get it. That was about 7 months ago, and my hits from recruiters reaching out to me have actually gone done the longer I've been at the Big 4. My original goal was to try and go from big4 to the IRS OCC (interned there) but haven't had any luck. As far as exit opps go, I'm currently trying to figure what's out there besides going to a in-house tax department. The groups where you will likely have an option to back into law are the M&A, international, and employee benefits groups (although this last one seems to have died down). Maybe real estate now since every other job posting on search firm sites are for real estate attorneys, but I don't know anyone doing strictly real estate tax at my firm to comment. There's probably better success stories, but for those asking, I'd only go if you got close to six figures that these people are getting or know you want to do tax, including compliance. There are groups that don't do any compliance (I'm in one), but the work really depends on who your manager is and how competent they are (most aren't). Your immediate bosses will likely be Type A 26-27 year old's with accounting degrees from a state school.

[Anonymous User]

New here, but what are the hours for Big 4 in the Tax department? Is it your standard 40 hours or is it still billable hours?

[ManoftheHour]

New here, but what are the hours for Big 4 in the Tax department? Is it your standard 40 hours or is it still billable hours?

Perhaps associates can chime in. From what I've heard from first year associates, they vary widely (firm and branch dependent)...even if they are all in tax. Tax is generally more chill than audit.

[Anonymous User]

What are some of the benefits of working in a large but non-big4 accounting firm (RSM/BDO/GT) over the tax department of a law firm?

[ManoftheHour]

How bad is not getting As in all your tax classes when applying to the Big 4? I'm pretty sure I blew my taxation in partnerships exam.

[Anonymous User]

How bad is not getting As in all your tax classes when applying to the Big 4? I'm pretty sure I blew my taxation in partnerships exam.

I got the gig during 2L with a B+ in FIT

[narfkarta]

Any info on which of the Big 4 is better for attorneys? In terms of salary, hours, exit opps, work, etc ?

[Anonymous User]

Any info on which of the Big 4 is better for attorneys? In terms of salary, hours, exit opps, work, etc ?

Depends what you want to do, but if its financial services consulting, PwC is likely the best. Good reputation (maybe best in the industry) and know a number of people that went from risk consulting to big law or other general counsel/in-house risk management positions that were high paying. Hours are client to client, so no one can give you a meaningful breakdown by firm. If you are at Goldman for a project, expect to work long hours. Pay is going to be similar across the board, its more about who you are and what your options are, then what level/year you are in terms of pay. I know managers at PwC that made $140/year base and I know managers that made $215/year base - it is all variable.

[narfkarta]

What about for tax law?

[ManoftheHour]

What about for tax law?

I could be wrong, but from what I hear from interviewers, you really aren't going to be practicing tax law in the traditional sense. They're hiring you more for their tax groups. So you're more like someone who passed the bar with some knowledge of tax law that works in their tax group and not as a traditional tax attorney. EY, for example, would put you into their diversified tax group, cycle you through all the different areas (just as they would with their non-JDs), and then likely put you into international tax or something like that where your JD is supposedly more useful.

A manager at PwC (who has a JD) told me that early in her career she worked with Excel a lot and once in a while busted out her legal research skills for some assignments. Very different from working at a law firm.

[narfkarta]

What is the timeline and process for attorney recruitment at Big 4 Tax sections? How many interviews and steps?

[Taxguy99]

Hi all,

Interested in EY Transaction Tax.

Can someone PM me about the interview process and/or actual job?

Would be much appreciated.

[Anonymous User]

What is the timeline and process for attorney recruitment at Big 4 Tax sections? How many interviews and steps?

One of my colleagues had a 1 hour interview on campus (spoke with a partner and a senior manager) and a 1 hour callback (spoke with two partners). Her timeline was something like resume collect --> 2 weeks --> first interview --> 1 week --> callback interview --> a few days --> offer

I had a one hour on campus interview (30 mins with partner, 30 mins with manager) and got an offer the next day, without going to the firm's office for a callback. My timeline was resume collect --> 2 weeks --> first interview --> one day --> offer