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I recently interviewed for a "Specialized Associate" position at Davis Polk in their NY office. To my surprise, it turns out the position is not the same as an entry-level associate. It is only for a year with no guarantee of a full time offer, and the interviewer explicitly told me the specialized associates make "less" than the others. Does anyone know how much these specialized associate positions do pay, preferably at Davis Polk specifically? The program has existed for a few years now, but I cannot find anything online with salary info. Thanks

sounds like a shitty staff associate position (another example is at Paul Weiss). pay is shit for NYC, not partner track and hours are still pretty bad. oh, and the work is genuinely worse than associate work. like imagine the most boring associate work out there, and imagine that filling all of your time.

if you're considering this, go to Orrick's West Virginia office. Same situation, but the lower COL makes your pay go a lot longer.

thanks for the reply; appreciate the insight. the position is in a specific practice - their Financial Institutions Group - doing specific work, namely dodd-frank regulatory stuff, for a specific period - at least one year. not sure if that makes it markedly different from the Paul Weiss program you mentioned (I read about that - 3 month contracts, NO thanks!), but it does seem to offer a slightly different experience...

TheUofMich wrote:thanks for the reply; appreciate the insight. the position is in a specific practice - their Financial Institutions Group - doing specific work, namely dodd-frank regulatory stuff, for a specific period - at least one year. not sure if that makes it markedly different from the Paul Weiss program you mentioned (I read about that - 3 month contracts, NO thanks!), but it does seem to offer a slightly different experience...

Of course you take the position and continue to look every day until your 12 months end. At 12 months, they let you go, let you continue working as a staff attorney, or convert you to an associate. But of course, you must take and keep lookig. Dodd-Frank is kind of a bore. Its very transactional.

I started out doing something similar, which helped me get the (awesome) job I have now. If you don't have anything better lined up, "meh" legal work is better than no work.

aaaaah the ol' there-might-a-good-job-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-so-you-sell-your-soul-for-a-year-for-a-job trick