Top Law Schools

Interview season is here again. Fire away. Will share my insight/opinions, but mostly opinions. Mid level at a valley firm and have friends at some of the others. Transactional attorney. Typing from mobile so insert general disclaimer re: typos and brevity.

1) How does transactional work in Silicon Valley compare to other areas of the country? (i.e., how do the major specialties compare)

2) How does work-life balance compare in Silicon Valley and San Francisco? Are there any transactional-oriented firms that stick out (whether for better or for worse) in this regard?

3) Where do people go after they leave law firms? (other law firms, in-house to tech companies, business development, universities)

4) What do you wish you know about being a transactional attorney in Silicon Valley if you were about to graduate?

Thanks.

As someone that is from the Bay and still has family there, but left many years ago, how should I sell my commitment to return to the region and stay in a cover letter or an email message?

In person, I can better explain how business and my significant other were factors in being away for so long.

Thanks for doing this!

What are your thoughts on the SV offices of NY firms (in particular, DPW, Skadden, and STB), in terms of work-life and exit options compared to native firms?

Curious how busy the transactional side has been and whether you see firms (particularly native ones like Fenwick, Wilson, Cooley) continuing to hire more for patent litigation than for other groups. Thanks for taking questions.

I have already accepted full-time employment at a SV firm doing transactional work. So I'm curious on what work life is really like. What does it take to succeed and not get pushed out? Was it hard figuring stuff out as a novice attorney? Are there any other good employers in SV that one should consider after big law life? Thanks!

Anonymous User wrote:Curious how busy the transactional side has been and whether you see firms (particularly native ones like Fenwick, Wilson, Cooley) continuing to hire more for patent litigation than for other groups. Thanks for taking questions.

It has been fairly busy on the transactional side. In general, if IPOs are steadily occurring and the big tech firms are acquiring smaller companies left and right then there is plenty of work to go around. I have very limited visibility into much re: patent lit, so I can't really comment there.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Curious how busy the transactional side has been and whether you see firms (particularly native ones like Fenwick, Wilson, Cooley) continuing to hire more for patent litigation than for other groups. Thanks for taking questions.

It has been fairly busy on the transactional side. In general, if IPOs are steadily occurring and the big tech firms are acquiring smaller companies left and right then there is plenty of work to go around. I have very limited visibility into much re: patent lit, so I can't really comment there.

Thoughts on lateral hiring picking up for associates in start-up work? Particularly at the big SV stalwarts?

I am selecting between Fenwick & West and Orrick (both SV offices) for my 2L summer. I was at a white shoe firm this past summer and did not fit in too well. It was reserved, not enough mentoring, and I could not connect with the "brilliant" associates.

Fenwick's offer is only for patent lit. For safety, I would like to keep options for in-house/small-firms open. Folks mentioned tech transactions is the best specialty out of patent lit, prosecution, and tech trans for an in-house move. Fenwick will not (and Orrick will) let me try tech trans next summer. Should I choose between firms on this basis?

At which firm will I see the most small cases? I heard this is the best way to get trained.

Any opinion on the PA office of Baker Botts?

What are some exit-option examples from your circle of colleagues

Anonymous User wrote:What are some exit-option examples from your circle of colleagues

Ditto this question. I imagine it can be hard to break into the big companies in SV (e.g. Google, Facebook). If you go to a smaller company, will the salary be high enough to continue living in SV?

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:What are some exit-option examples from your circle of colleagues

Ditto this question. I imagine it can be hard to break into the big companies in SV (e.g. Google, Facebook). If you go to a smaller company, will the salary be high enough to continue living in SV?

Should be about $120-$130k, though with solid benes and equity. Friends have gotten better deals, but that's where it is on average I think.

Also not hard to get into FB or google... Just... Why would you want to?

I'm assuming most of these positions are in-house. What are some more creative exits? I've heard of people exiting to work at startups to do a hybrid legal/biz dev role. This typically requires a paycut in exchange for some equity and more diverse, interesting work.

Anonymous User wrote:I'm assuming most of these positions are in-house. What are some more creative exits? I've heard of people exiting to work at startups to do a hybrid legal/biz dev role. This typically requires a paycut in exchange for some equity and more diverse, interesting work.

This is typically what happens when you exit to a "start-up." Pretty cool shit.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:What are some exit-option examples from your circle of colleagues

Ditto this question. I imagine it can be hard to break into the big companies in SV (e.g. Google, Facebook). If you go to a smaller company, will the salary be high enough to continue living in SV?

Should be about $120-$130k, though with solid benes and equity. Friends have gotten better deals, but that's where it is on average I think.

Also not hard to get into FB or google... Just... Why would you want to?

Thanks for the reply. That isn't a bad salary.

Haha, not sure why I would want to go to Google, other than the prestige factor and relative job stability. I grew up in SF during the first dot com bubble, and I saw how that negatively impacted a lot of people. Given how a lot of startups fail, I would be too nervous to go in-house at a place that is not well established.

Anonymous User wrote:Interview season is here again. Fire away. Will share my insight/opinions, but mostly opinions. Mid level at a valley firm and have friends at some of the others. Transactional attorney. Typing from mobile so insert general disclaimer re: typos and brevity.

Just in case you're still around, wondering if you had an opinion regarding Cooley vs Orrick vs Goodwin?