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I have a few potential offers that I am struggling with and think I will end up splitting, so my question is more about 1) which to do first 2) whether splitting hurts my chances of a permanent offer, despite them both saying it is okay; 3) whether a particular firm is better long-term.

Specifically, I have potential or existing offer(s) at Dechert, Mayer Brown, and Cadwalader which are all 3 the top-paying Charlotte firms that do the most complex finance and banking transactional work. I am wary and leaning away from Cadwalader because of tough workplace reputation etc, despite them seeming to be the market leader. From various experiences, both others seem to have very similar cultures, are similarly sized and equipped, have good outlooks, and are both growing. Both pay 160k on NY scale.

I know MB has a slightly better national reputation but both do the exact same work here (along with Cadwalader) and seem to have = reputations. Advice on all 3 questions, assuming I receive or have received offers at all of them.

Also, if anyone thinks working at one of the larger area firms that pay less and concentrate more on traditional corporate work (non finance and banking) would be a better move (most pay 145, raises much smaller), chime in.

What's a potential offer?

Thank you SO MUCH for introducing "firm choice pickle" into my slang lexicon.

Which ones do you have actual offers at?


And my advice would be, at this juncture in your career if you aren't certain that this narrow practice area that they focus on is right for you, go to one of the general corporate firms and find out what it is you want to be doing.

SA over the summer in Charlotte here. Those firms may pay more, but they're not the frontrunners in prestige and transactional work in Charlotte. RBH and MVA are tops in the market. K&L Gates is probably close. The firms you listed are basically satellite offices / outposts (not to say they're bad places, but it is what it is).

I've heard pretty awful things about Mayer Brown. No opinion on the others (they're really small in Charlotte and I honestly didn't meet any SA's from there, though I did meet some from most of the other large law firms).

SA, thanks for reply. I turned down offer at MVA b/c of the huge pay differential, which over the 8 yr partner track gets larger and larger, and I'd heard that the 3 I listed did the most complex work here. But in terms of market share and presence, I think you are definitely right. What specifically did you hear about Mayer, just bad work environment or hours?

I didn't want to say which places I had firm offers at so as not to ID myself and b/c it was irrelevant.

FlamingDragon wrote:SA, thanks for reply. I turned down offer at MVA b/c of the huge pay differential, which over the 8 yr partner track gets larger and larger, and I'd heard that the 3 I listed did the most complex work here. But in terms of market share and presence, I think you are definitely right. What specifically did you hear about Mayer, just bad work environment or hours?

I didn't want to say which places I had firm offers at so as not to ID myself and b/c it was irrelevant.

A little of both, but also (and this is just from one of the SAs I know so take it with a grain of salt) they're a super small office that's extremely dependent on BofA for work, so there's some risk there. Also, the SA I met seemed pretty miserable - he said there's a culture of plopping work on a junior's desk in the evenings without apology (obv that happens in NYC a lot but that sort of culture in Charlotte is weird).

I understand the pay differential point. I was a 1L SA this past summer at one of the major players and the pay raises seem pretty laughable across the board and so I will most certainly not be returning. If you're concerned about partner track it helps to inquire whether your firm is a 2-tier firm or not.

Good luck with the decision.