Top Law Schools

Hey everyone. I need some help/advice about deciding on a job offer. While I know that I'm blessed to be facing this problem instead of still being unemployed, I really need some guidance on this situation.

Background: Graduated from top-20 law school last year. Slightly above median grades. Plan on working in Atlanta for 2 years before moving to Florida with my fiancee.

Options: 1) Work for one of the biggest firms in Atlanta in their document review department at $50/k per year, 2) work for a 2-lawyer eminent domain practice in a far northern suburb of Atlanta for $35/hr ($70/k per year), 3) stay at my current contract real estate job that pays $45/k per year with the option to possibly move to a satellite office in Florida in 2 years.

Questions: Pros/Cons? Best choice? Are there good exit options for doing document review at a major firm? Any advice is much appreciated.

Exit options from big law doc review are not strong. I work at a large firm and there is a guy in my office that did doc review at a large firm for 3 years before he came - he's viewed as a first year associate. The guy had strong credentials coming out of school - so it's not like the doc review job lifted him to a higher caliber job.

I would go with the small firm job. You might get some legit experience. You might learn things.... Doc review will not help you develop professionally.

Anonymous User wrote:Hey everyone. I need some help/advice about deciding on a job offer. While I know that I'm blessed to be facing this problem instead of still being unemployed, I really need some guidance on this situation.

Background: Graduated from top-20 law school last year. Slightly above median grades. Plan on working in Atlanta for 2 years before moving to Florida with my fiancee.

Options: 1) Work for one of the biggest firms in Atlanta in their document review department at $50/k per year, 2) work for a 2-lawyer eminent domain practice in a far northern suburb of Atlanta for $35/hr ($70/k per year), 3) stay at my current contract real estate job that pays $45/k per year with the option to possibly move to a satellite office in Florida in 2 years.

Questions: Pros/Cons? Best choice? Are there good exit options for doing document review at a major firm? Any advice is much appreciated.

Doc Reviewers are treated as turds. Take #2 as long as they can guarantee full time hours hours.

Desert Fox wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Hey everyone. I need some help/advice about deciding on a job offer. While I know that I'm blessed to be facing this problem instead of still being unemployed, I really need some guidance on this situation.

Background: Graduated from top-20 law school last year. Slightly above median grades. Plan on working in Atlanta for 2 years before moving to Florida with my fiancee.

Options: 1) Work for one of the biggest firms in Atlanta in their document review department at $50/k per year, 2) work for a 2-lawyer eminent domain practice in a far northern suburb of Atlanta for $35/hr ($70/k per year), 3) stay at my current contract real estate job that pays $45/k per year with the option to possibly move to a satellite office in Florida in 2 years.

Questions: Pros/Cons? Best choice? Are there good exit options for doing document review at a major firm? Any advice is much appreciated.

Doc Reviewers are treated as turds. Take #2 as long as they can guarantee full time hours hours.

#3 is my current job. I'm waiting on #2 to decide on whether or not I get the job, but he seemed to indicate the job was mine. #1 is an interview on thursday. Should I cancel the doc review interview?

Don't cancel anything until you have offers in hand.

arodtoo wrote:Don't cancel anything until you have offers in hand.

For the love of god take this advice. In fact, I would recommend you continue sending your resume out until you actually start your job.

What kind of work do you do at your job.

.

Contract doc-review is a scarlet letter. Avoid if possible.

Based exclusively on the post subject, I say small firm. Never do doc review unless it's 100% financially necessary.

Desert Fox wrote:What kind of work do you do at your job.

I currently do real estate. Just lots of title work for several large scale residential property acquisitions.

I already did doc review for a month last year to pay some bills, so that "scarlet letter" is already attached to my resume. I know I probably won't ever get on with a big firm (or not at least until I'm a real attorney with business to bring to it), so the scarlet letter doesn't scare me in this economy. However, I do want to do what is best for my legal career, so I think my current firm is a better option than doc review at the big firm. I do think I will take the eminent domain guy's offer if he makes it since the work would be more substantive and higher paying, but that offer isn't yet in hand and I wanted to get some other people's opinions before I cancel the document review interview.

Anonymous User wrote:

Desert Fox wrote:What kind of work do you do at your job.

I currently do real estate. Just lots of title work for several large scale residential property acquisitions.

I already did doc review for a month last year to pay some bills, so that "scarlet letter" is already attached to my resume. I know I probably won't ever get on with a big firm (or not at least until I'm a real attorney with business to bring to it), so the scarlet letter doesn't scare me in this economy. However, I do want to do what is best for my legal career, so I think my current firm is a better option than doc review at the big firm. I do think I will take the eminent domain guy's offer if he makes it since the work would be more substantive and higher paying, but that offer isn't yet in hand and I wanted to get some other people's opinions before I cancel the document review interview.

A month long gig shouldn't be on your resume unless it is impressive. But nobody is going to find one month of doc review a scarlet letter. It's only bad for your resume because it's not real legal work. But its still weird to put a month long temp gig on your resume. A resume isn't a list of places you worked.

Anonymous User wrote:

Desert Fox wrote:What kind of work do you do at your job.

However, I do want to do what is best for my legal career,

#2 is your best option then. The doc review gig at a big firm will only benefit you for future doc review gigs at big firms. Since you are moving to a new market in a few years, you need experience more than a big firm name while doing doc review.

Desert Fox wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Desert Fox wrote:What kind of work do you do at your job.

A month long gig shouldn't be on your resume unless it is impressive. But nobody is going to find one month of doc review a scarlet letter. It's only bad for your resume because it's not real legal work. But its still weird to put a month long temp gig on your resume. A resume isn't a list of places you worked.

Agreed, employers' suspicions are only raised if there is a noticeable gap in your resume (at least several months long); you don't need to keep a travel log of every place you've worked. Recommend taking off the doc review now that you've held a legal position for some period of time. And don't cancel anything until you've got offers in writing.

I've decided on the eminent domain office. It was the best option, and I feel like I'm actually taking a real step towards starting my legal career.

Anonymous User wrote:I've decided on the eminent domain office. It was the best option, and I feel like I'm actually taking a real step towards starting my legal career.

Congrats

I just got called for an interview at the Small Business Administration in downtown of the major city near me. She said it should pay the same, if not more, than my new eminent domain gig. Interview on thursday. Thoughts?

Anonymous User wrote:I just got called for an interview at the Small Business Administration in downtown of the major city near me. She said it should pay the same, if not more, than my new eminent domain gig. Interview on thursday. Thoughts?

Why not just say Atlanta?

What do you want to do? All things equal I'd take a job at the SBA, because that sounds like it would be by far the most secure of these options, but who knows.

$70k/year doing substantive legal work in a low-COL city like Atlanta is a good gig! Its really sad that law school is so expensive that people feel like this sort of thing is inferior to big firm work.