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Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 2:48 pm
by Anonymous User
Had CBs with 3 magic circle firms. Interested in doing cross-border corporate deals.
I assume vault rankings mean very little and so wondering how TLS would you rank these four magic circle firms' NY offices in terms of cross-border deals:
clifford chance, LL, A&O, and Freshfields.
From what I hear, the NY offices of LL and A&O are more like satellite offices than CC and Freshfields, but I really don't know if this true.
Tried looking for a thread on this but no luck
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 9:37 am
by Anonymous User
I'm in the same boat. I have callbacks with all four and so far have gone on two (FF and A&O. . .both in NY). From what I can tell the A&O office appeared to include more domestic law practice areas (ie. real estate and tax) while FF really stressed the "global" nature of their work (frequently brought up collaborating with their foreign offices). FF has a comparatively larger international arbitration division. That said, I know A&O does a lot of cross-border work, particularly on their finance side.
Still waiting to visit Linklaters and CC, but here are the rumors I know of. Clifford's US offices are in effect vestiges of the US firm that it bought when it entered the US market. CC consequently has large domestic practice areas, and as a result of the merger do a lot of US domestic legal work for the firm's clients from across the pond.
I have a friend who works at Linklaters and loves it there. She tells me that they have a great office culture and that there are numerous oportunities for her to work abroad if she so desired. I haven't really dug as deep into their practice area strengths yet.
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 11:25 am
by Anonymous User
Anyone hear back from any of these firms? 2 call backs recently and just wondering how long they normally take
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 10:13 pm
by Anonymous User
Anyone interview for the London offices?
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 10:34 pm
by Anonymous User
LL CB mid-last week, offer this morning, so like 3-4 business days.
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 12:41 am
by Anonymous User
i believe CC takes about a week normally although my turnaround time was 2 days. fwiw i loved everyone i met; they were sociable and sophisticated people whom i think it would be fun to work with.
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 9:49 am
by Anonymous User
I got an offer from A&O (NY office) the day after my CB. Probably going to accept. Anyone else get an offer here?
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 10:11 am
by Anonymous User
When was ur a&o interview what day when did you hear back? Will you accept? Stats? Got cb scheduled this week. Amped. Any tips?
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 6:06 pm
by Anonymous User
OP here:
I had CB w/ three of these firms and they all felt the same fit-wise (there were people that were super-cool and people that were super-not-cool). So for cross-border transactional work how would you rank them?
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 6:10 pm
by Anonymous User
for those with either CB or Offer from CC,
how was your CB experience? Any tips as to what they are looking for? Also mind sharing your stats?
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 6:51 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:for those with either CB or Offer from CC,
how was your CB experience? Any tips as to what they are looking for? Also mind sharing your stats?
Loved my cb, everyone was friendly and talkative. My first interview we barely talked about anything related to international law and got into a long tangent about some other type of law. I think you should be interested in international law - find some personal experiences that really showcase this; knowing another language would help, and just generally be interested and intelligent. CCN medianish.
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 8:55 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:When was ur a&o interview what day when did you hear back? Will you accept? Stats? Got cb scheduled this week. Amped. Any tips?
It was on a Tuesday and I heard the next day. There's a really good chance I'm going to accept; I liked everything about the firm. Top 10%, T20, LR. No tips really--I was really interested in the firm and I think that came through. I also didn't play up the whole international work thing a lot becasue I think they get that a lot and think most law students don't really know what it means to work on international deals.
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 9:09 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:Anonymous User wrote:for those with either CB or Offer from CC,
how was your CB experience? Any tips as to what they are looking for? Also mind sharing your stats?
Loved my cb, everyone was friendly and talkative. My first interview we barely talked about anything related to international law and got into a long tangent about some other type of law. I think you should be interested in international law - find some personal experiences that really showcase this; knowing another language would help, and just generally be interested and intelligent. CCN medianish.
how long did it take from CB to Offer?
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 9:36 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:Anonymous User wrote:Anonymous User wrote:for those with either CB or Offer from CC,
how was your CB experience? Any tips as to what they are looking for? Also mind sharing your stats?
Loved my cb, everyone was friendly and talkative. My first interview we barely talked about anything related to international law and got into a long tangent about some other type of law. I think you should be interested in international law - find some personal experiences that really showcase this; knowing another language would help, and just generally be interested and intelligent. CCN medianish.
how long did it take from CB to Offer?
Not who you're asking but mine took one week
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 11:19 pm
by Anonymous User
Quick rookie question, what state do you need to be licensed in to practice in London (or any foreign office for that matter) if any? Can it be any state?
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 11:37 pm
by Anonymous User
You need to take the LPC!
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 12:24 am
by Anonymous User
London Firms, or US Firms with London Offices, ask that you be licensed in New York. You will get paid a New York salary (160), plus a cost of living adjustment (30-60k pounds per year). But you will be limited to certain areas of law, usually capital markets (securities). Most firms have US departments there ranging from 5 lawyers to 30 or so lawyers.
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 11:34 am
by Anonymous User
Anyone do a CB at FF DC? If so, any insight?
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 8:46 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:Anonymous User wrote:When was ur a&o interview what day when did you hear back? Will you accept? Stats? Got cb scheduled this week. Amped. Any tips?
It was on a Tuesday and I heard the next day. There's a really good chance I'm going to accept; I liked everything about the firm. Top 10%, T20, LR. No tips really--I was really interested in the firm and I think that came through. I also didn't play up the whole international work thing a lot becasue I think they get that a lot and think most law students don't really know what it means to work on international deals.
Different anon, but I got an offer from A&O, over a week post-CB so it can take longer. No particular tips to offer. I did ask a ton of questions (because I had genuine concerns and because it really is a lot different from the other new york firms I was looking at) which I guess might have been useful for demonstrating interest in and knowledge about them. Anyway, I'm not accepting, so good luck to you; I hope you get it

Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 9:19 pm
by Anonymous User
This is what you get on top of your 160K if you work in London... I imagine that Hong Kong is similar to London.
--LinkRemoved--’-on-up/
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 7:11 pm
by Anonymous User
any movement this week?
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 8:42 pm
by Anonymous User
hoping to hear some good news from A&O soonish!
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 8:50 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:hoping to hear some good news from A&O soonish!
when was your cb?
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 8:56 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:Anyone interview for the London offices?
i know someone interviewing at A&O's London office.
Re: Magic Circle Firms in US
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 9:22 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:Anonymous User wrote:hoping to hear some good news from A&O soonish!
when was your cb?
16th