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I'll keep it short and simple:

I have a job at a firm paying $80k in a very specialized area of law (7 year equity pts track). I have just been extended an offer for a job at a V100 offering an associate position in the area of law I want to practice paying $125k (10 year equity pts track...ew). I have no law school debt. The first job would likely be 9-6 M-F. The second will be typical corporate associate hours. I'm not sure I want to do law for my entire career (maybe business school or the PE/VC pipedream from law practice) but either way it seems the smart money would be on the second job. I do, however, like the idea of not having a super stressful work environment and making decent money while being able to study for the GMAT.

Any thoughts appreciated. Also, if there are any other things I should be considering please point them out. Just trying to wrap my head around this.

The first one, if you are interested in the specialized area, or that area could be useful to what you hope to do after law.
If you are really planning on getting more school or leaving law, I don't think partner track time should really matter.

Take the second one. You'll be making 45,000 more. Seriously. That should be the end of it. I can go on about how it's a v100. How nice that will look on your resume when you decide to leave and do your own thing. But I think the money alone should tell you what you need to do.

Eco wrote:Take the second one. You'll be making 45,000 more. Seriously. That should be the end of it. I can go on about how it's a v100. How nice that will look on your resume when you decide to leave and do your own thing. But I think the money alone should tell you what you need to do.

wut

OP here...So the specialized area probably doesn't have much in the way of relevant experience for what I want to do after.

As to the 45k more...I'm having trouble figuring out if it it worth the lack of consistency in work schedule and extra hours worked. As I said I have no debt and the idea of a balanced law career sounds enticing. Then agsin, firm two will undoubtedly look better on the res when I leave. Do non-legal firms know the difference? Or will they just see two large law firms?

It might help to know in what specialized area of law you're working.

CanadianWolf wrote:It might help to know in what specialized area of law you're working.

Oil and gas

I would take the 80k job with reasonable hours. Not even very close.

From what I am heard it is always good to start at the V100 and then work your way down to something that resembles a life. Like you said for the res. I think the connections could always help you out later when you are in business.

This being said there is always the possibility that you will never leave the legal field(not to be the pessimist).

I would take the V100 unless you have family/kids or something.

I think you need to think more about what direction you ultimately want your career to go in. If you think you'll stick it out in law, the first option sounds like a pretty sweet gig. 80k for a 9-6 ain't bad at all, especially with no debt and (it sounds like) pretty good partnership prospects. Any idea what the partners are making? Probably upwards of $250-300k to be starting associates at $80, but that is total conjecture. Would you be satisfied with that?

If you're undecided, though, it may be smart to take the V100 to keep exit options open, whatever they may be. The first offer seems pretty narrowly focused and targeted to something that doesn't sound like it would translate well into business or PE/VC or whatever you're looking to do. If you're pretty sure you want to move on to an MBA or transition to business/finance, I'd go with the V100 brand and get a little broader experience which may translate better into another career.

You will be shocked to find out how much of an insane difference the 45k per year will make for you, especially since you have no loans. Think about it. You can save so much more. You can buy a better car, better home, etc...

You don't have to be there forever. You can find another job later on. I would take the 2nd job, get it on your resume and reap in all the extra cash and experience.

Congrats on having two great options...you'll probably be happy either way.

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