Let's talk about Seattle Law Firms Forum

[Anonymous User]

I plan on practicing in the Seattle/Bellevue/Tacoma area and its environs. I have researched certain firms namely Perkins, K & L etc. Is this a realistic goal to have from a Top 6? I'm somewhat Seattle or bust. I know firms in Seattle pay lower than BigLaw in larger markets such as New York etc. Any advice, tips and strategies would be greatly appreciated. How hard is it to gain a 1L summer position in Seattle (if one is a minority, I've looked into diversity initiatives at the bigger firms) and if one were to luck out, do such firms extend offers for 1L's? I apologize if this question is stupid but mostly I want to discuss quasi-BigLaw opportunities in Seattle and practicing in Washington State at large. Olympia is not out of the question either.

[Anonymous User]

This is a good question. I would like to know the answer........I wonder how the Seattle legal market is looking in general.

[MBZags]

This is a good question. I would like to know the answer........I wonder how the Seattle legal market is looking in general.

Not good.

[Anonymous User]

HLS, top third-ish, strong seattle ties, interviewed with two seattle firms, one CB/offer, the other no CB. Not totally sure what to make of it. Had offers from all of my other six CBs in a major market.

[Anonymous User]

Does being stationed, living in, working and going to school (undergrad) in the area constitute strong enough ties? If you don't mind me asking, did you only bid on two Seattle firms? Was it through OCI or targeted mass-mailing etc? Also, do a lot of Seattle firms recruit at HLS (and to the extent of your knowledge, YHSCCN)?

[Anonymous User]

It's hard to say what counts as "strong enough ties." What are the things that would convince you that someone wanted to be there long term? Having lived there for a while is the first big one, then family/personal connections. I only bid on two Seattle firms because I was unsure of whether I wanted to be there (which I did not tell them, of course) and so split with a major market. It was through OCI. There were something like 10-12 Seattle offices of firms, some of which are Seattle-based, at OCI. Perkins, DWT, K+L will be at the top schools, I'd imagine, though preference for West Coast.

[Anonymous User]

I'm at a lower T14 and know someone who did a 1L summer at Perkins. They have an IP background and significant work experience though.

[Anonymous User]

I'm at a lower T14 and know someone who did a 1L summer at Perkins. They have an IP background and significant work experience though.

Were a lot of Seattle firms represented at OCI (asssuming you've gone through OCI)?

[Anonymous User]

I'm at a lower T14 and know someone who did a 1L summer at Perkins. They have an IP background and significant work experience though.

Were a lot of Seattle firms represented at OCI (asssuming you've gone through OCI)?

If you mean 1L "OCI" then no. If you mean 2L OCI, then it depends on your definition of a lot but I would also say no.

[Cavalier]

...

[Anonymous User]

One anon: where did you get offered, are you accepting? jw.

On Seattle... you will need some pretty serious ties. Washington state born and raised, state undergrad, UW Law. And there were serious questions about commitment to the region. ymmv.

The t-14 people I met during this process either had very significant ties to the region, or had lateraled in later. Some had significant ties but couldn't make it right away, guessing might of had trouble getting in. And that was before the economy tanked.

On true Seattle Biglaw, there are ~20 slots. Perkins+K&L (14), Satellites (6). Satellites pay NY. Perkins has best reputation, prospects, everything else. And it's based in Seattle, though it is growing nationally. K&L based in Pittsburgh, with Seattle being alternate, though primary office. Satellites have huge emphasis on transactional for emerging companies, probably 80%.

Regional big-law, you have DWT (might be true big-law, very close), Lane Powell, Foster Pepper. All pay market to start with. Maybe 8 slots total.

Then you have mid-law. Karr Tuttle, Garvey Schubert, Graham Dunn, williams kastner, Stoel Rives, Riddell Williams, Hillis Clark. They take 1, occasionally two each. To break those down a touch, they have a little more work-life balance reputation. Karr Tuttle in particular has a minimum billable of 1400 at $95k, which scales to 1800-1850 if you want to get paid market. And it is a true 1400 billable. Mid-law with best reputation: Garvey, Riddell, Hillis Clark. Most incredible office: Graham & Dunn, which is on a Pier downtown and is literally like an ocean-front resort.

Fill it in with a few smaller firms and you hit ~40. Just a guess of where those 40 slots go? 20-25 UW. Maybe 5 go to other PNW schools. 10-15 go to t-14. Very rare to see individual below t-14. Occasional UCLA/USC, then crickets, probably because most go to UW in that situation, no idea if you can get back having chosen say, Minnesota. Because of the emphasis on regional ties, I think you'd have some issues. I think you'd want to have a very specific and compelling reason for not attending UW, and even if they didn't ask you directly, you'd want to get it out there. Sure, some will not like it, but without it, you're in serious trouble anyways, so it's a gamble probably worth taking.

If you look online at profiles, you'll see much more diversity, especially in terms of non-UW PNW schools. I think part of that was just market pre-crash, and that a lot of those individuals work their way up to a firm, rather than starting out there immediately.

Hope that helps. I've interviewed at most of these places, screener-callback so I can probably provide some input if you have specific questions.

[Anonymous User]

Cavalier, are you coming back to Seattle?

[Cavalier]

...

[Anonymous User]

Good info above. I was at CCN a couple of years ago, good grades, strong Seattle ties, interviewed everywhere I could, and ended up receiving exactly one offer in Seattle. (Contrast with multiple offers from difficult DC firms.) Firms in Seattle need their top ~10% UW grads, their top ~5% SU grad, and extra spaces go to T6, maybe T12 grads in at least the top 25%. There aren't many extra spaces, except at Perkins and K&L. Public interest is equally competitive. For me, even knowing what I know now, I'm glad I went to a T6 rather than UW. But Seattle is an exceedingly difficult market.

[Anonymous User]

I had a CB with Riddell Williams last week (from a T25) and really didn't get many questions about why I want to live in Seattle even though I don't attend UW/SU. I did attend undergrad in Washington, though I am not from the state. Nonetheless, I continually reiterated my desire to be in Seattle (I love the city). I don't like my odds, but I'm hoping like hell.

[Anonymous User]

Staying anon because talking about firms in small market (individual who gave breakdown above).

1) Be careful in Seattle because supposedly everyone talks with eachother.

2) On Riddell, it will be incredibly difficult to get an offer there, imho. That firm has an interesting history with a recent quasi-merger, breakup, but has a reputation as the Seattle establishment 'old money' firm and a lot of students who know the legal market are drawn there accordingly.

[Anonymous User]

Resurrecting this super old thread to see if anyone has more info on Seattle firms. Specifically, how do Stoel and DWT compare for transactional work?

[Anonymous User]

Bump for the above question

[Anonymous User]

BUMPPPPP

[kellyfrost]

Must not be much action or knowledge in Seattle.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah I know. Hoping someone casual lurker from Seattle sees this and can give some insight. Trying to decide between a few different corp groups in the city and would love to hear someone's thoughts.

[reasonable_man]

One anon: where did you get offered, are you accepting? jw.

On Seattle... you will need some pretty serious ties. Washington state born and raised, state undergrad, UW Law. And there were serious questions about commitment to the region. ymmv.

The t-14 people I met during this process either had very significant ties to the region, or had lateraled in later. Some had significant ties but couldn't make it right away, guessing might of had trouble getting in. And that was before the economy tanked.

On true Seattle Biglaw, there are ~20 slots. Perkins+K&L (14), Satellites (6). Satellites pay NY. Perkins has best reputation, prospects, everything else. And it's based in Seattle, though it is growing nationally. K&L based in Pittsburgh, with Seattle being alternate, though primary office. Satellites have huge emphasis on transactional for emerging companies, probably 80%.

Regional big-law, you have DWT (might be true big-law, very close), Lane Powell, Foster Pepper. All pay market to start with. Maybe 8 slots total.

Then you have mid-law. Karr Tuttle, Garvey Schubert, Graham Dunn, Williams Kastner, Stoel Rives, Riddell Williams, Hillis Clark. They take 1, occasionally two each. To break those down a touch, they have a little more work-life balance reputation. Karr Tuttle in particular has a minimum billable of 1400 at $95k, which scales to 1800-1850 if you want to get paid market. And it is a true 1400 billable. Mid-law with best reputation: Garvey, Riddell, Hillis Clark. Most incredible office: Graham & Dunn, which is on a Pier downtown and is literally like an ocean-front resort.

Fill it in with a few smaller firms and you hit ~40. Just a guess of where those 40 slots go? 20-25 UW. Maybe 5 go to other PNW schools. 10-15 go to t-14. Very rare to see individual below t-14. Occasional UCLA/USC, then crickets, probably because most go to UW in that situation, no idea if you can get back having chosen say, Minnesota. Because of the emphasis on regional ties, I think you'd have some issues. I think you'd want to have a very specific and compelling reason for not attending UW, and even if they didn't ask you directly, you'd want to get it out there. Sure, some will not like it, but without it, you're in serious trouble anyways, so it's a gamble probably worth taking.

If you look online at profiles, you'll see much more diversity, especially in terms of non-UW PNW schools. I think part of that was just market pre-crash, and that a lot of those individuals work their way up to a firm, rather than starting out there immediately.

Hope that helps. I've interviewed at most of these places, screener-callback so I can probably provide some input if you have specific questions.

Garvey Schubert Barer is an excellent firm with some very good people based on my own personal dealings.

[Anonymous User]

Can anyone tell me anything about Foster Pepper?

[Anonymous User]

I had a CB with Riddell Williams last week (from a T25) and really didn't get many questions about why I want to live in Seattle even though I don't attend UW/SU. I did attend undergrad in Washington, though I am not from the state. Nonetheless, I continually reiterated my desire to be in Seattle (I love the city). I don't like my odds, but I'm hoping like hell.

Had a CB with Riddel beginning of August.. Super strong ties; T10. Dingo!

[Anonymous User]

born/raised in seattle; went to SU; top 5%. Applied to every single seattle firm; few CBs, zero offers. A firm that hasnt been mentioned on here is Lane Powell. Strong firm with like 300 attys. Had a CB with them... got terrible vibes; people were weird as hell, office was cluttered, walked out thinking "Never want to work there".

Riddell I really liked. DInged and was really upset about it.