Top Law Schools

NYC. Corporate.

Like most law students, I love prestige. But the things that really matter to me are interesting work, good mentors, early responsibility, and client contact. My understanding is that the work at Latham is better, but I'd get to do more of it at Akin Gump.

Latham's unassigned program, where I would get to dabble in different practice areas for the first few years of my career, is extremely attractive to me. However, despite Latham's fratty reputation, I found the people at Akin Gump to be more outgoing. I also liked Akin Gump's office better, though that's not particularly important to me.

I don't think I would be miserable at either firm, but I recognize that it's very rare these days for someone to start as an associate at a big firm and rise all the way to partner at that same firm, so exit options matter, too.

No-brainer: Latham. Latham is Elite Band 3 for NY corporate and AG is Highly Regarded Band 3. Anyone that votes for AG is waiting to see if they get an offer from Latham.

lawyerwannabe wrote:No-brainer: Latham. Latham is Elite Band 3 for NY corporate and AG is Highly Regarded Band 3. Anyone that votes for AG is waiting to see if they get an offer from Latham.

Chambers ranking is all that matters?

TBH, I don't know much about corporate work in NYC, but I'd say you should consider Chambers, but also what your career goals are, i.e. are you more likely to make partner at one than the other? Is your career path better served by the exit options that are more common at one or the other?

Most importantly, if these firms seem similar enough in terms of practice area, I'd recommend really going with your gut about where you'd fit in. I think the people you work with make all the difference in the world. If one place has a better feel to you, go for it.

Edit: Try going on a second visit to each firm to meet with more associates. That might really help!