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I have an interesting group of choices. don't really care whether transactional or litigation.
edit: NY offices

which of these firms is best in terms of:
1) Economical health (stable and safe), and
2) Prestige, and
3) Exit opportunities.

thanks!

Which offices?

I have a similar debate going on, so this is highly relevant to my interests

Quinn is ONLY litigation. If I didn't have a strong interest one way or the other, I would not lock myself into practicing there.

7 votes, and no real reasons on the points given?

Anonymous User wrote:7 votes, and no real reasons on the points given?

What do you want people to say. Anything on here that you can't find on Chambers, ATL, etc. will be anecdotal and not predictive. Choose a firm based on feel/fit and practice group strength. FYI: you're nearly halfway through professional school. "Don't care whether transactional or litigation" is the wrong answer.

If you are interested in capital market, funds (mutual / hedge) and other financing/corporate work, choose sidley. NY is the center of the firm's capital market work. I don't know much about lit, but according to Chambers, Quinn is stronger.

Relevant links

Sidley:
http://www.chambersandpartners.com/USA/ ... 0#org_3692 (capital market)
http://www.chambersandpartners.com/USA/ ... 0#org_3692 (fund)
http://www.chambersandpartners.com/USA/ ... 2#org_3692 (fund)

Quinn:
http://www.chambersandpartners.com/USA/ ... #org_65258 ( gen. commercial lit)

On the opportunity spectrum, Quinn is still expanding a lot, which offers higher risk/reward for you. They are also some of the most awesome people I've met in any interview.

Voted for Sidley. Reasons: wider range of Chambers-ranked practice groups, with an apparent ability to switch between them for at least a few years as a new associate; awesome people; high-level domestic and cross border cap markets work; smaller office in New York with enormous nationwide resources to back it up. Good bonuses if you get your hours in (think I read somewhere that they started approximately doubling the Cravath scale in the 2500 hour range, which is a bleak existence but on par with the NY elite firms). Likely to have good exit opportunities in banking/finance (even the M&A practice in NY is banking-focused), but also have a good brand name in Chicago, London, and DC (cities of interest down the road personally; obviously that wouldn't apply to you). Word on the street is that you can pick up projects from any practice over the course of the summer.

However, if you want to be a litigator, choose Quinn. It's frankly absurd that Sidley and Quinn (in NYC) would ever even be compared - just totally different practices.

Wondering why White & Case is so far behind though. Great projects practice, lots of international opportunities if that's your thing.

Anonymous User wrote:Voted for Sidley. Reasons: wider range of Chambers-ranked practice groups, with an apparent ability to switch between them for at least a few years as a new associate; awesome people; high-level domestic and cross border cap markets work; smaller office in New York with enormous nationwide resources to back it up. Good bonuses if you get your hours in (think I read somewhere that they started approximately doubling the Cravath scale in the 2500 hour range, which is a bleak existence but on par with the NY elite firms). Likely to have good exit opportunities in banking/finance (even the M&A practice in NY is banking-focused), but also have a good brand name in Chicago, London, and DC (cities of interest down the road personally; obviously that wouldn't apply to you). Word on the street is that you can pick up projects from any practice over the course of the summer.

However, if you want to be a litigator, choose Quinn. It's frankly absurd that Sidley and Quinn (in NYC) would ever even be compared - just totally different practices.

Wondering why White & Case is so far behind though. Great projects practice, lots of international opportunities if that's your thing.

+1 for everything you said about Sidley NYC. But might I just add, it's not actually a small office at all, although you're right that it's smaller. There are about 350 attorneys in NYC, so all of their practice areas are represented to some extent. What attracted me Sidley is the flexibility in practice areas that you mentioned. Everyone I spoke to made me feel like I could really tailor my career to my interests or even switch offices down the line. Plus, the people at the callback and at the offer dinner were so down-to-earth. Good luck!