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If I were interested in working in a foreign office of my firm at some point as an associate, would it be wise to bring that up during the summer? I stumbled upon the bio of someone at my SA this summer whose career mirrors one of the trajectories I'd like to take. She worked overseas for a couple of years as a midlevel, then came back to the US with no apparent harm to her career since she is now a partner. Would it be OK to ask this person out to lunch and ask about how to go to a foreign office as a midlevel (what skill sets to develop, what practice areas, etc.)? Or does that betray lack of commitment to this office, or even the market?

Beyond the commitment issues, I feel like it would be presumptuous to ask about assignments overseas as a summer. Maybe because I want one so badly, I assume they are hard to get, and maybe thus one shouldn't go around openly asking about them. Maybe I am supposed to put my head down and "pay my dues" before manifesting this sort of interest or ambition (that's what I don't know, whether a desire to work in a foreign office is considered to be merely an interest, or an ambition). I have been in the real world long enough to know that any workplace is fraught with unspoken rules. I have broken my share of them in the past, and that's not something I am eager to repeat.

TL;DR: is it OK to ask a partner at my SA about working abroad at some point, or otherwise openly manifest this desire?

No, it's not ok to mention it or give any indication of your desire to work in an office other then the one you are in for the summer. Don't ask about it, hint at it, or otherwise indicate an interest in it. Until you have an offer in hand, you are 100% committed for your entire professional career to working in your summer office because it is their feedback that will decide if you get an offer. If they're sure you're going to jump ship to an international office and leave them short-handed or think that you just want to jet-set and see the world, they are less likely to endorse you for an offer.

Are you talking about working in the overseas office of the firm in question? And do they staff it with people from the US offices who rotate over there for a couple of years? If so, I don't see why asking about that would be a problem, presuming you are interested in going into the practice groups from which they usually draw people to go overseas.

Op here. Foreign offices of the same firm.

Anonymous User wrote:Are you talking about working in the overseas office of the firm in question? And do they staff it with people from the US offices who rotate over there for a couple of years? If so, I don't see why asking about that would be a problem, presuming you are interested in going into the practice groups from which they usually draw people to go overseas.

You would ask this AFTER you have an offer, when you are considering if you will accept or shop it around. Even if they staff it with US people or have a rotation program, a partner may not like losing people or an associate might not like the competition for the rotation slot. Also, they may think you view law as a fun way to see the world and aren't committed to paying your dues. Just keep your head down and get an offer and then worry about asking these questions.

LawIdiot86 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Are you talking about working in the overseas office of the firm in question? And do they staff it with people from the US offices who rotate over there for a couple of years? If so, I don't see why asking about that would be a problem, presuming you are interested in going into the practice groups from which they usually draw people to go overseas.

You would ask this AFTER you have an offer, when you are considering if you will accept or shop it around. Even if they staff it with US people or have a rotation program, a partner may not like losing people or an associate might not like the competition for the rotation slot. Also, they may think you view law as a fun way to see the world and aren't committed to paying your dues. Just keep your head down and get an offer and then worry about asking these questions.

Ok I think this is very firm specific. This was absolutely not true where I did my SA last summer. They actively encouraged us to ask about overseas offices, sent people abroad etc, sent us to lunches w people who had worked in the offices we might be interested in...I accept that other firms are different but saying DO NOT SPEAK OF SUCH THINGS seems a little extreme.

Anonymous User wrote:

LawIdiot86 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Are you talking about working in the overseas office of the firm in question? And do they staff it with people from the US offices who rotate over there for a couple of years? If so, I don't see why asking about that would be a problem, presuming you are interested in going into the practice groups from which they usually draw people to go overseas.

You would ask this AFTER you have an offer, when you are considering if you will accept or shop it around. Even if they staff it with US people or have a rotation program, a partner may not like losing people or an associate might not like the competition for the rotation slot. Also, they may think you view law as a fun way to see the world and aren't committed to paying your dues. Just keep your head down and get an offer and then worry about asking these questions.

Ok I think this is very firm specific. This was absolutely not true where I did my SA last summer. They actively encouraged us to ask about overseas offices, sent people abroad etc, sent us to lunches w people who had worked in the offices we might be interested in...I accept that other firms are different but saying DO NOT SPEAK OF SUCH THINGS seems a little extreme.

This is definitely more accurate from what I've heard. Many firms ask you upfront if you want overseas offices so they can try to arrange for you to spend part of your summer there. That being said, spending your entire time at the NYC office asking how things are going in London or whether they'll have space to get in you in in Hong Kong after you graduate is not a great idea. It's ok to be inquisitive, but not to the extent that it seems like you are not excited to be working in the domestic location.

it's also possible to ask this partner about her career path without being overly eager about working overseas. you could ask her out to lunch and ask her questions about other aspects of her career as well.

Detrox wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

LawIdiot86 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Are you talking about working in the overseas office of the firm in question? And do they staff it with people from the US offices who rotate over there for a couple of years? If so, I don't see why asking about that would be a problem, presuming you are interested in going into the practice groups from which they usually draw people to go overseas.

You would ask this AFTER you have an offer, when you are considering if you will accept or shop it around. Even if they staff it with US people or have a rotation program, a partner may not like losing people or an associate might not like the competition for the rotation slot. Also, they may think you view law as a fun way to see the world and aren't committed to paying your dues. Just keep your head down and get an offer and then worry about asking these questions.

Ok I think this is very firm specific. This was absolutely not true where I did my SA last summer. They actively encouraged us to ask about overseas offices, sent people abroad etc, sent us to lunches w people who had worked in the offices we might be interested in...I accept that other firms are different but saying DO NOT SPEAK OF SUCH THINGS seems a little extreme.

This is definitely more accurate from what I've heard. Many firms ask you upfront if you want overseas offices so they can try to arrange for you to spend part of your summer there. That being said, spending your entire time at the NYC office asking how things are going in London or whether they'll have space to get in you in in Hong Kong after you graduate is not a great idea. It's ok to be inquisitive, but not to the extent that it seems like you are not excited to be working in the domestic location.

I was told during the callback that it was viewed negatively by the offer-makers in my practice group to express interest in another practice group in the same office, let alone another office.

Again that doesn't change the views expressed above in my post and what I quoted: it's firm specific.