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Sorry if this has been asked, but I couldn't find a satisfactory answer through the search function. What are the differences in realistic exit options (litigation focused) between a V5 in New York and a top local firm in a large non-NYC market like Chi/DC/LA? The New York elite firms obviously have name recognition going for them, but, for someone who wouldn't want to stay in NYC forever but doesn't have strong ties to any particular market, are the local connections that you get from a top regional firm better than having the V5 on your resume? I've heard that it's easier to go from NYC to another market versus the other way around, but how many avenues would I be closing from not going to the New York V5? Thanks for your help.

Anonymous User wrote:Sorry if this has been asked, but I couldn't find a satisfactory answer through the search function. What are the differences in realistic exit options (litigation focused) between a V5 in New York and a top local firm in a large non-NYC market like Chi/DC/LA? The New York elite firms obviously have name recognition going for them, but, for someone who wouldn't want to stay in NYC forever but doesn't have strong ties to any particular market, are the local connections that you get from a top regional firm better than having the V5 on your resume? I've heard that it's easier to go from NYC to another market versus the other way around, but how many avenues would I be closing from not going to the New York V5? Thanks for your help.

wats ur end goal? really varies by wat your trying to accomplish.

Not really sure, interested in anything ranging from government to academia to lateral to a lit boutique. Sorry, wish I could be more specific, but the end goal isn't really that clear yet. Let's just say the focus is on lateraling.

dude, there's almost no point in asking about exit options in terms of practice areas if you don't know what you want to do. obviously DC will be better if you want to lateral into gov't and NY will be better for finance, but going to a well-known firm in any city/state is going to give you better than layperson's exit options. your question is better phrased in terms of location -- where do you really want to be in five/ten years? that's all you need to ask.

OP here. Thanks for the response. Problem is I don't know where I want to end up in 5/10 years (no real ties to anywhere) and want to keep my options open. I assume that New York opens the most doors in terms of future opportunities, but I also know that I wouldn't want to stay there for the long term. So I'm curious about how big of a difference it would make to have an elite New York firm on your resume versus having a top local firm on there if you wanted to move to a third, unrelated market. Is the hit in terms of QOL from working in New York worth the potential boost in available exit opportunities? I know it's a totally subjective question, but I'm curious about people's thoughts on it.