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Of course I am aware: 1. few are in a position to comment on both from the inside, 2. this probably varies A LOT by firm

...But since so many of my friends and I are making Bay Area/So Cal vs. NY big law decisions in the next week or two I thought Id see if there was a consensus on TLS.

Comments are especially desired from those who have worked in both markets (knowing that such accounts are probably purely anecdotal.)

A Latham (LA) associate told me that at least 1/3 of the junior associates bill 2200-2400, but those are the people who want to stay there long-term. People who decided they are just there for a few years only try to meet their billable hour target (1900).

But I also heard the UK firms in NY have less billable hr req. I know Linklaters' is 1800.

Anonymous User wrote:A Latham (LA) associate told me that at least 1/3 of the junior associates bill 2200-2400, but those are the people who want to stay there long-term. People who decided they are just there for a few years only try to meet their billable hour target (1900).

But I also heard the UK firms in NY have less billable hr req. I know Linklaters' is 1800.

The people I met at Freshfields (NY) all billed in the 2300-2400 range.

Why isn't there an option that NY has longer hours, on average, with more of a face time requirement?

ph14 wrote:Why isn't there an option that NY has longer hours, on average, with more of a face time requirement?

This sounds about right.

To be clear: requirements don't necessarily have any correlation to actual hours worked.

Regardless of hours worked, the work cultures are different. CA firms don't have associates staying late as often as NY firms do. It's just part of the culture to stay at work late in NY that doesn't exist as much in CA. That doesn't mean CA associates work less hours, instead they often work from home. That being said, I think on average CA firms tend to be better than NY. But of course that isn't always true. Quinn/Latham/etc are considered brutal.

I don't think you can make a blanket statement and then apply it to your situation. It really depends on the firms you are picking between.

I had a CA callback and one of the associates I interviewed with worked in the main NY office of the firm and he kept going on about how much he regretted not just starting at the CA office. Not only were the associates in his year more experienced than he was, but apparently the lifestyle was significantly better. Of course this could have just been a sales pitch so take it with a grain of salt.

ph14 wrote:Why isn't there an option that NY has longer hours, on average, with more of a face time requirement?

Because hyperbole, generalization, and over-simplification is the TLS way.

crit_racer wrote:

ph14 wrote:Why isn't there an option that NY has longer hours, on average, with more of a face time requirement?

Because hyperbole, generalization, and over-simplification is the TLS way.

Credited.