3L: In-house versus maybe-Midlaw Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hey all, help me with my decision tree:

3L@CCN, unemployed (kind of). Last summer I picked a market-paying boutique firm over a biglaw firm, and the midlaw firm had a bunch of attorneys leave, which makes it really hard for them to hire me now. They still want to hire me, but keep saying "hold on a little more, we want to hire you, but need a few more cases" They also are plaintiffs-lit-focused, while I want corporate work. I have also found an in-house general corporate position with a Fortune 100 company. They don't usually do these, but I hustled the position. Problem is the Fortune 100 company will only pay 65k starting salary w/ normal possibility for career advancement, etc.

I believe that there is a 50% chance that the midlaw firm will hire me. I also believe that there is another 15% chance on the top that I can get another biglaw position if this falls through. So, 65% total chance I get something market paying.

Which is the better deal? I think is would be life destructive if I got nothing out of big and midlaw. I think that the 65k position might be good because of exit options (transfer over to another company after 3-5 years which actually pays market, or climb up the in-house latter).

Thoughts?

[Pokemon]

How much time do you have? You claim to have a 15% chance of getting biglaw. How about work in all directions, including that 15%, and see what works out first, and how much time they give you until you have to make the decision. No one suffers from too many choices... and your situation seems more dire than you make it sound.
You are kind of asking, I see three birds in the bush, which one should I hit with a rock... try all three of them, and hope you hit one.

[northwood]

go with the offer in hand

[northwood]

and by in hand, i mean it sounds like the firm wants to hire you, but cant, and another firm wants to hire you and can( did they actually make you an offer?).

[keg411]

If I were in your shoes, I'd take the corporate counsel job in a heartbeat. It may pay less, but it's much closer to what you want to do (corporate work) and more potential for advancement. The midlaw firm sounds like it's in trouble.

(FYI 1L's: this is why you go BigLaw over Boutique)

[Anonymous User]

How much time do you have? You claim to have a 15% chance of getting biglaw. How about work in all directions, including that 15%, and see what works out first, and how much time they give you until you have to make the decision. No one suffers from too many choices... and your situation seems more dire than you make it sound.
You are kind of asking, I see three birds in the bush, which one should I hit with a rock... try all three of them, and hope you hit one.

When you are an unemployed 3L, it seems dire. I have some time to reply to the corporate position. Problem is each position will require a different bar, with April 1 being the deadline for the Midlaw bar. Corporate is NY bar, which is May 1 I think.

Biglaw jobs will come up occasionally in Spring and Summer. Who knows what will be available? Last year was mediocre, 2 years ago was great. Energy transactional and IP lit are on the upswing, but corporate biglaw jobs don't seem to be blowing up (0 postings right now anywhere).

[Anonymous User]

If I were in your shoes, I'd take the corporate counsel job in a heartbeat. It may pay less, but it's much closer to what you want to do (corporate work) and more potential for advancement. The midlaw firm sounds like it's in trouble.

(FYI 1L's: this is why you go BigLaw over Boutique)

Firm is doing awesome, practice group isn't. However, this point is credited. Boutiques have great advantages over Biglaw (close nit team, backdoor to clerkships, easier partner track), but fall apart frequently. Best advice I got (but didn't follow) was "never go to a firm where the named partner is still alive."

[Anonymous User]

If I were in your shoes, I'd take the corporate counsel job in a heartbeat. It may pay less, but it's much closer to what you want to do (corporate work) and more potential for advancement. The midlaw firm sounds like it's in trouble.

(FYI 1L's: this is why you go BigLaw over Boutique)

Firm is doing awesome, practice group isn't. However, this point is credited. Boutiques have great advantages over Biglaw (close nit team, backdoor to clerkships, easier partner track), but fall apart frequently. Best advice I got (but didn't follow) was "never go to a firm where the named partner is still alive."

+1.

Split between Biglaw and market-paying, awesome Lit boutique. Lit boutique had an awesome track record of making offers, early experience, eventual partnership, etc.... Swore up and down they had room for the entire (very small) summer class. End of the summer, hiring partner starts talking about how things are slow. I take the FT offer from the biglaw firm for post-grad, the next week the Lit boutique no-offers the rest of the summer class.

[rad lulz]

Bird in hand bro

[Anonymous User]

Bird in hand bro

OP here. I guess, but it is a big salary difference. Are you prognosticating that we wont be seeing 3L entry-level SAs pop up in Spring?

[Pokemon]

Bird in hand bro

OP here. I guess, but it is a big salary difference. Are you prognosticating that we wont be seeing 3L entry-level SAs pop up in Spring?

Not sure how much time you spend on TLS man, but if you do, if there is one thing that you should have learned, is that things just do not look good.

[rad lulz]

Bird in hand bro

OP here. I guess, but it is a big salary difference. Are you prognosticating that we wont be seeing 3L entry-level SAs pop up in Spring?

Not sure how much time you spend on TLS man, but if you do, if there is one thing that you should have learned, is that things just do not look good.

I'm in that 3L shit bro. It's SHIT. Bird in hand dude.

[patrickd139]

Bird in hand bro