Ranking of Exit Options Forum

[jwahba]

If you had to list all new grad jobs by the quality of the exit options that one has, what would that list look like?

Include both public and private sector in the list, and define a high quality exit option as a job that pays well and works ~40-60 hours.

I would presume that V3 would top the list.

[somewhatwayward]

I would presume that V3 would top the list.

blatant anti-S&C trolling? really trying hard to rub it in S&C's face that they dropped from 3 to 4 this year? such a TTT

[jwahba]

I would presume that V3 would top the list.

blatant anti-S&C trolling? really trying hard to rub it in S&C's face that they dropped from 3 to 4 this year? such a TTT

Nope, all trolling is unintentional. I am a 1L who is not keeping track of Vault rankings just yet.

[Omerta]

If you had to list all new grad jobs by the quality of the exit options that one has, what would that list look like?

Include both public and private sector in the list, and define a high quality exit option as a job that pays well and works ~40-60 hours.

I would presume that V3 would top the list.

Sorry bro, this is gonna blow your mind but things are not just on a convenient list for you to apply to. A midlaw senior associate with a $ 750k book of business is waaaaaaay more desirable than a senior associate at a more "prestigious" firm. Who has a better shot at AUSA? A dude from Weil or a plaintiff's attorney who exclusively does 1983 claims?

This is such a mind-blowingly stupid question; be silent little 1L.

[Should I Transfer??]

Supreme Court clerkship...further divided by prestige of the particular judge

[jwahba]

Supreme Court clerkship...further divided by prestige of the particular judge

I thought New Grads can't get SCOTUS clerkship.

[Should I Transfer??]

Supreme Court clerkship...further divided by prestige of the particular judge

I thought New Grads can't get SCOTUS clerkship.

Thats what the people who can only secure feeder clerkships say.

[Anonymous User]

Any given individual's exit options will be heavily colored by their practice, their location, their relationships with clients, and their relevant skills. That is to say, if you have a background in finance and your practice was in securities litigation in NYC, you'll have markedly different exit options than someone who worked on the hill for 4 years before law school and worked in a health care regulatory practice in the District. Which is higher quality: working for a investment bank or becoming a lobbyist/public policy wonk?

There is no rational way to rank the overall "quality" of a firm's exit options because exit options are A) highly variable and B) much more dependent on the individual's skills, circumstances, and interests than on the name of the firm they used to work for.

Give us an idea of what you'd like to do substantively when you leave BigLaw and people will be able to be much more specific in ranking target firms for your goals.

[jwahba]

Alright, if my end game is more executive related i.e. corporate counsel, what would most likely build to that?

[rayiner]

Avoid the law student-ish need to make overly fine distinctions between things. Your exit options are going to be dominated by your experience and your network. Think of things in broad categories.

If you want in-house at a corporation, go do transactional work at one of the big, well-known transactional practices. Ideally Wachtell Lipton, but if you can't do that then try for one of the the V10 + Debevoise/Shearman in NYC, Sidley, K&E or Skadden in Chicago, Latham in LA, Ropes or Wilmer Hale in Boston. Those markets have the most transactional work, so try to end up in one of those. If you really want to work in-house at a bank, try to get into CSM/S&C/DPW/STB/Cleary in NYC, as these firms do the most work with NYC banks. Otherwise, don't sweat it, focus on building your network because at the end of the day that's going to matter a lot more.