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I am a male who will be in his late 20s by the time graduation rolls around. I am currently single and have no kids.

I have offers at a V20 in NYC and a V50 headquarters office in a smaller city in another state. The V20 has about 350 attorneys in the NYC office and the V50 has about 250. Both firms are very large (10+ offices, 1500+ attorneys).

I don't know what practice group I'd like to be in. It could be litigation, IP, or corporate. I am realistic about the long-term prospects at a firm (i.e. I'm not expecting to be around long enough to make partner) and am very concerned about maximizing my exit options. Accordingly career development and opportunities are very important to me.

The one big chip that the V50 seems to have is quality-of-life due to the fact that it's not in NYC. Supposedly it's more family-friendly (come in earlier, leave earlier) and there's less "pressure than in NYC.

Using career potential/exit options as the primary factor and quality-of-life as the secondary factor which would you choose?

Anonymous User wrote:I am a male who will be in his late 20s by the time graduation rolls around. I am currently single and have no kids.

I have offers at a V20 in NYC and a V50 headquarters office in a smaller city in another state. The V20 has about 350 attorneys in the NYC office and the V50 has about 250. Both firms are very large (10+ offices, 1500+ attorneys).

I don't know what practice group I'd like to be in. It could be litigation, IP, or corporate. I am realistic about the long-term prospects at a firm (i.e. I'm not expecting to be around long enough to make partner) and am very concerned about maximizing my exit options. Accordingly career development and opportunities are very important to me.

The one big chip that the V50 seems to have is quality-of-life due to the fact that it's not in NYC. Supposedly it's more family-friendly (come in earlier, leave earlier) and there's less "pressure than in NYC.

Using career potential/exit options as the primary factor and quality-of-life as the secondary factor which would you choose?

Go with your gut

thanks for the helpful info

Which is least likely to conduct layoffs?

I had a similar decision to make. However, there was a bigger discrepancy between the firms in terms of prestige. One NY firm was a V20, whereas the other firm wasn't on the Vault list. However, it was one of the biggest firms in the city where I'm from.

I chose the NY firm, and I hope it was the right decision. I've heard that the prestige of the firm is the most important, and I figure I'm young, and if I get worked pretty hard, hopefully I'll have strong exit options when it's time to leave.

I definitely liked the work environment of the regional firm better. However, I think in a few years I would still have my work cut out, whereas a few years at the V20 would probably make life a lot easier down the road.

Anonymous User wrote:I had a similar decision to make. However, there was a bigger discrepancy between the firms in terms of prestige. One NY firm was a V20, whereas the other firm wasn't on the Vault list. However, it was one of the biggest firms in the city where I'm from.

I chose the NY firm, and I hope it was the right decision. I've heard that the prestige of the firm is the most important, and I figure I'm young, and if I get worked pretty hard, hopefully I'll have strong exit options when it's time to leave.

I definitely liked the work environment of the regional firm better. However, I think in a few years I would still have my work cut out, whereas a few years at the V20 would probably make life a lot easier down the road.

OP here, I was told similar things re: exit options. Like I could go from NYC to the smaller city...but not the reverse as easily.

Anonymous User wrote:Which is least likely to conduct layoffs?

OP here - they've both done layoffs in the past year.

It depends on what's important to you and where you're at in your life. If you're young, single, have no commitments that would require you to go home earlier, and prestige is the most important factor, then go with NY. If you have a family or plan on starting one in the near future and value QOL over prestige/exit options, go with the other firm. It sounds like you're at the point in your life where the first option is perfectly doable and wouldn't cause too much additional stress- so go with NY. Ultimately, you have to evaluate where you are personally and professionally, where you want to be in 5 years personally and professionally, and which options will get you there.