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95% sure I am interested in corporate work, 5% chance I would prefer regulatory. Don't want a firm where I will need to regularly bill 2,000+ hours. Nice, collegial work environment, little facetime, and firm stability are important to me. No preference between DC and Boston. Which is best and why?

Anonymous User wrote: Don't want a firm where I will need to regularly bill 2,000+ hours.

There aren't really any big law firms that fit this description, especially if you want to do corporate...

Given your above criteria, I'd say Ropes. There's really not a lot of corporate work in DC.

imchuckbass58 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote: Don't want a firm where I will need to regularly bill 2,000+ hours.

There aren't really any big law firms that fit this description, especially if you want to do corporate...

Given your above criteria, I'd say Ropes. There's really not a lot of corporate work in DC.

imchuckbass58 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote: Don't want a firm where I will need to regularly bill 2,000+ hours.

There aren't really any big law firms that fit this description, especially if you want to do corporate...

Given your above criteria, I'd say Ropes. There's really not a lot of corporate work in DC.

Hogan DC actually has a very robust corporate practice. There isn't a lot of corporate work in DC as a whole, but Hogan is one of the exceptions. S&C DC also comes to mind.

Gibson DC is very much a litigation shop. I asked about the corporate work they do there during my callback and the picture they painted was very narrow in scope. If you want a broad corporate practice, Hogan and Ropes are really your best options. Between those two it seems like a toss up. They're both highly respected firms in their markets and regarded as excellent places to work. I'd personally say Hogan, but mostly because the thought of working near Patriots and Red Sox fans is simply unacceptable.

I get the impression that Ropes Boston associates work close to New York-like hours, and they have a 1,900 billables minimum. They dominate corporate work in Boston though, and their private equity practice in particular is excellent. They're also known for a collegial and professional atmosphere and are by all accounts a good place to work.

Anonymous User wrote:I get the impression that Ropes Boston associates work close to New York-like hours, and they have a 1,900 billables minimum. They dominate corporate work in Boston though, and their private equity practice in particular is excellent. They're also known for a collegial and professional atmosphere and are by all accounts a good place to work.

You are going to work hard at any biglaw firm but they dont work NY-like hours at all. I know a lot of people who do work/have worked at Ropes and they all say expect an avg. of 60-70 hrs per week (accounting for variability, of course). Not really worse hours than the typical entry-level corporate job these days but for multiples of the pay. TBH, you arent going to find any biglaw firm with significantly better work hours than that.

Ropes is obviously a QOL winner.

But similarly, you won't work NYC biglaw hours at Gibson (minimum is around 1,950 with average hours a ~100 more than that). People at Gibson -- especially mid-levels and senior associates -- all seem genuinely happy. And the firm always leads mid-level satisfaction surveys. Another thing to keep in mind is that Gibson's DC office has some strong conservative political voices (but probably more politically diverse than you'd think).

While Gibson DC doesn't compete with Ropes Boston for corporate, Gibson is very integrated and staffs across offices, so you may get more corporate opps than you think.

I think this decision should be Ropes v. Gibson - both top-notch on QOL, prestige and selectivity. Good problem to have.

GDC's had a 89% offer rate in 2009 when the economy went bad while Ropes maintained a 99% offer rate (but deferred associates)

Go with Ropes BOS.

It is a great place to be a SA (I was one). They make life great for you over the summer by giving you enough real work, while not keeping you late. The large summer class is fun and they have first-class office space, cafeteria, and, of course, PEOPLE. The attorneys are wonderful. But they don't hide the fact that as a full-time Associate you will be working hard - while I would leave the office on average at 6:30pm, my Adviser (like a mentor/buddy) regularly pulled all nighters.

They have a great Corporate practice (PE, hedge funds, public companies, mutual funds) AND 100% offer rates. Now that is sweet.