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Got a couple of offers in the bag and want to speak to attorneys at those firms to gauge which one I should choose. People with experience: what should I be asking that a lot of young attorneys should have asked before accepting an offer? Is it okay to ask about Pay and bonus structure?

I'm also a rising 2L, so no "experience" so to say. Here is what I have learned:

Compensation structure is totally legitimate - I would frame it in the context of how it affects culture and work distribution. Will your peer down the hall help you out when you've got just 1 too many things? Are slower days ok for you to take it easy and leave early or do you have to start knocking on doors to pick stuff up out of worry?

Bonus structure is a little bit further from relevancy imo, but if you put it in the same context and ask it alongside general compensation, I guess it's a fair question to ask.

I would ask about details regarding staffing infrastructure and support. Is work distributed well, will you see all parts of the practice area you're interested in, is someone there going to make sure of that, is good work rewarded with more work or held in check by pure seniority, etc.

Really, ask anything that you consider important to your daily work experience, imo.

Anonymous User wrote:Got a couple of offers in the bag and want to speak to attorneys at those firms to gauge which one I should choose. People with experience: what should I be asking that a lot of young attorneys should have asked before accepting an offer? Is it okay to ask about Pay and bonus structure?

You can find this information out online most of the time, and most of the young attorneys will know if you could have, because they would have done so themselves. Other than that, pay is a very fair question for any job assuming that it's asked tactfully. I think asking if they feel they have a good work life balance, like the other attorneys, and even how their weekend was are also all fair and good questions to be asking. Something to consider is that many of the young attorneys you are speaking to may be gone by the time you start. The life of the business is that many of the people you click with over the summer will be gone when you start so focus on the general vibe of the collective group of individuals rather than how much you like a specific individual.

I would ask how work is assigned, how research is done, what a particular day is like, etc. are all more directly going to impact your day to day. If you're more social then asking about whether they have a baseball team, women's group, etc. are also useful if you want an environment where you will develop friendships with your coworkers. Some people love the work enough that it makes long hours tolerable. Some people need to also love the people they're working with.

Cool beans, thanks everyone!

Why does your firm have a pattern of no-offering summers?

filibuster wrote:Why does your firm have a pattern of no-offering summers?

nah, just being indecisive. have 3 offers in 2 markets and I like them all pretty equally. Just wanted to make the most informed decision.