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I was a biglaw paralegal (finance practice) before law school at a V40 firm. Deciding now between offers at that firm, Willkie, and Morgan Lewis. I've been lit-oriented my whole life but realized after my experience at a firm (and taking corps) that I'd like to try my hand at transactional practice, preferably in the M&A and finance groups, but would probably regret it for a long time if I didn't at least do a rotation through a litigation group. My V40 firm is pretty good at all three.

My question is this: what's your impression of people that go back to the firm that they para'd at? Is there really a perception that you somehow didn't earn that, or that you're constantly looked at as "the paralegal" as an associate?

These are great questions. Would love to see some perspectives.

Thanks for asking, OP.

I have met a few associates who were once former paralegals at their respective firms and they all speak positivity about their experiences. In some sense, it's harder to work as an associate at a firm you paralegaled at. It means you have a great work product, a foundation of trust with other associates, and a clear desire to be there longterm.

One of the summers at my firm was a paralegal. From what I saw, no one ever treated him any differently than the rest of us. In fact, they treated him better because they knew him well and liked him. I got the impression that as long as people liked you as a person while you paralegaled, that's all that matters. And FWIW, he joined the same practice group that he was a paralegal in.

Don't factor in the fact that your paralegaled there in your decision making. In the long term, this will have no bearing on your career. The firms are comparable, V40-50 range, so go with fit.

Congratulations on the offers.
Good luck.