Do Lifestyle Firms in CHI and NYC exist? Forum

[Anonymous User]

My situation: I'm a 2L SA at a mid law firm in a secondary market. I love the firm. I'm 110% certain I'll get an offer, and it would take a lot for me to leave. However, the whole "grass is greener" and "this is your last chance to jump ship to the big time" logic has been running through my head lately... so I'm curious... are there any solid firms who have all the following:

1) a good corporate practice group
2) pay over $130k in CHI or $145k in NYC
3) require 1800-2000 hours and it is safe to call that a realistic expectation; and
4) have generally pleasant people to work with

I'm currently trying to decide if it is even worth putting applications out there. FWIW, I'm at a T10, with bottom 1/3 grades.

[Serett]

My situation: I'm a 2L SA at a mid law firm in a secondary market. I love the firm. I'm 110% certain I'll get an offer, and it would take a lot for me to leave. However, the whole "grass is greener" and "this is your last chance to jump ship to the big time" logic has been running through my head lately... so I'm curious... are there any solid firms who have all the following:

1) a good corporate practice group
2) pay over $130k in CHI or $145k in NYC
3) require 1800-2000 hours and it is safe to call that a realistic expectation; and
4) have generally pleasant people to work with

I'm currently trying to decide if it is even worth putting applications out there. FWIW, I'm at a T10, with bottom 1/3 grades.

Milwaukee's part of Chicago, right?

[Hutz_and_Goodman]

Lol, no
Sounds like you have a very good situation

[dixiecupdrinking]

There are plenty of places where you may find yourself working 1800-2000 hours in NYC and, especially, Chicago, even for $160k, but the problem is identifying them ahead of time. At the end of the day, you might work 1800 hours at a sweatshop if your practice group hits a lull for whatever reason, and you might be pushing 2500 at a "lifestyle" firm that finds itself getting crushed with work. When you talk to associates at various firms, you start to realize that reputation is only a rough guide at best for what the associate experience is really like. That said, it's unfortunately easier to identify the places where you are likely to be underwater than vice versa.

All of that is to say you should probably stay put if the place you're at seems like it meets most of your criteria.

[Anonymous User]

There are plenty of places where you may find yourself working 1800-2000 hours in NYC and, especially, Chicago, even for $160k, but the problem is identifying them ahead of time. At the end of the day, you might work 1800 hours at a sweatshop if your practice group hits a lull for whatever reason, and you might be pushing 2500 at a "lifestyle" firm that finds itself getting crushed with work. When you talk to associates at various firms, you start to realize that reputation is only a rough guide at best for what the associate experience is really like. That said, it's unfortunately easier to identify the places where you are likely to be underwater than vice versa.

Completely agree with this. I work at a somewhat relaxed V100 in DC and workload varies a lot depending on the year and practice group. My first year I billed close to 2500 and everyone in my group was over 2200. The next year I think only one person surpassed 2100, and several were significantly under 2000. Within the practice group and the firm associates have different experiences as well, depending on ability, willingness to say no, and luck. A talented associate may always be swamped, a mediocre associate can spend five years doing mostly doc review from 9-6 before being pushed out, etc.

I think that at most firms, you'll find several associates who have managed to achieve a work/life balance. Figure out what they do--e.g. which partners they work for, what types of work they do and do not turn down, when they say they're too busy, etc.