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Can anyone with experience talk bout Ohio regional firms. Mainly in Cincinnati area (dinsmore, FBT, Taft). How would hours compare to major market NYC big law? How does pay increase over the years? Which gives best work life balance?

Anonymous User wrote:Can anyone with experience talk bout Ohio regional firms. Mainly in Cincinnati area (dinsmore, FBT, Taft). How would hours compare to major market NYC big law? How does pay increase over the years? Which gives best work life balance?

I interviewed/had callbacks at most of the Cincinnati firms, but my knowledge is dated by a year or two. I think the lower hours and lower cost of living make up for the lower salary, and you can live really well in Cincinnati on an associate's salary. Salary increases over the years are fairly compressed, but I don't have hard numbers. That said, its not like you are going to a V20 in NY that could bring you exit options from all over the country: lateralling outside of the region might pose a challenge.

Hours can vary, but are generally less than in NY: billables are usually around 1800. FBT had a program where you are fully paid as a first year but have to bill only half of the yearly requirement; I don't know if that is still in place. An exception is Vorys, which has a minimum of 2k hours. Market pay is around 120k.

I liked Dinsmore, but they have a reputation for being eat-what-you-kill, which may turn some off. Taft felt more formal. FBT had a panel interview, which is very uncomfortable. All of these firms are top of the market in Cincinnati and have the best local reputation.

Also look into katz teller; smaller, maybe one SA every two years, but they pay above market and struck me as a very cool place.

Thanks for the input

Anonymous User wrote:Hours can vary, but are generally less than in NY: billables are usually around 1800.

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But this is what I'm really asking about. Maybe unnecessarily focused too much on Cincy because that's where I'd be going, but more broadly does anyone know hours for midwest regional "large law" type firms compared with V20 in NYC.

I am weighing options to do either, and the only justification for not doing NYC is the hope for better hours. But the thing I couldn't do is throw away the money and career opportunity to be stuck in the same lifestyle.

If anyone works in those offices or peer firms what are daily hours generally? How many week stretches does one go working until 6am, only to get home and keep responding to emails every half hour. Is there any midlaw firm in existence where 9:00 to 7 or 8 with free weekends is commonplace? Hell I'd even take post midnight frequently if I knew there weren't always 3 weeks in a row every other month where I need to average 18-20 hours in the office.

I have a good friend who worked for several years at a large Ohio firm, and he finally quit because he was working too much. As he put it, he was being worked to death as an associate, and then more as a senior associate, and his reward for suffering through all of that was even more work as a partner. So he quit.