White & Case (NY) vs Pillsbury (DC) Forum

[Anonymous User]

I have received offers from both firms. I am interested in corporate work ( specifically project finance and M&A) as well as anti trust!

WC NY
Pros - Lot of international corporate work, fairly prestigious
Cons - Reviews on the board and online don't look to favorably upon WC, it's a bigger firm so you can get lost in the shuffle, last summer's offer rate was 60%, NY housing costs

Pillsbury DC
Pros - good corporate practice that works with NY, smaller firm so easier to get good work and excel, raised in DC and would like to raise a family here
Cons - Not as prestigious, starting is 145 but can get to 160 if you meet hour requirements, not sure about job security


I would really appreciate input from those who may have worked at either of these firms or turned down/accepted at either. Thanks in advance!

[Helmholtz]

last summer's offer rate was 60%

Wasn't last summer's offer rate 100%? I also think this year's was either 100% or very close.

[Anonymous User]

If you want to work at a somewhat smaller firm and to live in DC, it sounds like Pillsbury would make you happier, which might outweigh the prestige factor.

[Anonymous User]

last summer's offer rate was 60%

Wasn't last summer's offer rate 100%? I also think this year's was either 100% or very close.

According to NALP

35 summer associates

# 2010 Summer 2Ls considered for associate offers: 21
# offers made: 21

[Helmholtz]

last summer's offer rate was 60%

Wasn't last summer's offer rate 100%? I also think this year's was either 100% or very close.

According to NALP

35 summer associates

# 2010 Summer 2Ls considered for associate offers: 21
# offers made: 21

No. 35 is what they expected to have this year. Last year, the summer of 2010, they had 21 summer associates and made 21 offers.

[Anonymous User]

last summer's offer rate was 60%

Wasn't last summer's offer rate 100%? I also think this year's was either 100% or very close.

According to NALP

35 summer associates

# 2010 Summer 2Ls considered for associate offers: 21
# offers made: 21

No. 35 is what they expected to have this year. Last year, the summer of 2010, they had 21 summer associates and made 21 offers.

Thank you very much for clearing that up. That was troubling me.


Now my issue is would I rather work close to home vs be somewhere I can get some good substantive work and establish my career. See, I am unfamiliar with big law firm life and it would be horrible if I went to New York and ended up just being another person lost in the shuffle that is big law and I know that I have to foresee that risk in order to make my decision, but I was hoping to get some insight from those who may have more knowledge about this subject.

[Anonymous User]

[Anonymous User]

When was your CB for that White & Case offer?

[Anonymous User]

W&C summer 2011 offer rate was 100% (35/35). I know because I am one of those 35. If you want corporate work, go to NY.

[Anonymous User]

W&C summer 2011 offer rate was 100% (35/35). I know because I am one of those 35. If you want corporate work, go to NY.

How was your experience there? How was morale? Are they still losing partners to other firms?

[Anonymous User]

W&C summer 2011 offer rate was 100% (35/35). I know because I am one of those 35. If you want corporate work, go to NY.

How was your experience there? How was morale? Are they still losing partners to other firms?

Good questions!

[Anonymous User]

W&C summer 2011 offer rate was 100% (35/35). I know because I am one of those 35. If you want corporate work, go to NY.

How was your experience there? How was morale? Are they still losing partners to other firms?

My experience was great. Firm culture is awesome and the work was always substantive. Morale in the corporate department is extremely high and they are insanely busy. The litigation department is not quite as busy and thus morale not as high, but there were some major cases starting to pick up by the time I was leaving. Aside from the usual associate turnover, I did not see any significant departures going on. They have actually been picking up talent in recent months (I have a Google alert on the firm, which is also how I found this thread). Given the questions you asked, my advice to you is to not put too much stock in what Vault says. Go with your gut. I'll remove firm tags for the moment and say that if you want corporate work, hands down NY is the place to be. I equate it to being in Palo Alto if you run a tech company. If you want to be close to home, stay in DC. Think of your long term career objectives when making your decision and where you would like to be in, say, 6-10 years. I think that neutralizes the short term concerns and excitement you have and streamlines the decision-making process toward a more rational decision. Good luck.

[Anonymous User]

question for OP: how soon did you hear back after your pillsbury callback? and curious as to what you ended up deciding.

[Anonymous User]

question for OP: how soon did you hear back after your pillsbury callback? and curious as to what you ended up deciding.

+1.