Found the Fabled Mid-Law Unicorn Job Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi All,

For all of you who doubted it was out there, after working here for a little over a year I believe I have found the fabled midlaw. NYC, market pay, on pace to bill about 1400 hours, no weekend work. Typical hours in office are from 10:00 AM to 6:30 PM. Small subset of corporate. These jobs exist and are out there if you look hard enough.

Happy to take questions.

[Anonymous User]

I want.

[rpupkin]

Hi All,

For all of you who doubted it was out there, after working here for a little over a year I believe I have found the fabled midlaw. NYC, market pay, on pace to bill about 1400 hours, no weekend work. Typical hours in office are from 10:00 AM to 6:30 PM. Small subset of corporate. These jobs exist and are out there if you look hard enough.

Happy to take questions.

How do you know that your firm is satisfied with your productivity? In my first year in big law, there were a few associates who billed only in the 1,500-hour range (because the firm was relatively slow). But that wasn't representative of what a typical year was like--and, indeed, many of those same associates billed well over 2,000 hours the following year.

[Anonymous User]

Hi All,

For all of you who doubted it was out there, after working here for a little over a year I believe I have found the fabled midlaw. NYC, market pay, on pace to bill about 1400 hours, no weekend work. Typical hours in office are from 10:00 AM to 6:30 PM. Small subset of corporate. These jobs exist and are out there if you look hard enough.

Happy to take questions.

How do you know that your firm is satisfied with your productivity? In my first year in big law, there were a few associates who billed only in the 1,500-hour range (because the firm was relatively slow). But that wasn't representative of what a typical year was like--and, indeed, many of those same associates billed well over 2,000 hours the following year.

OP here. Seems pretty standard firmwide.

[chingwoo]

Hi All,

For all of you who doubted it was out there, after working here for a little over a year I believe I have found the fabled midlaw. NYC, market pay, on pace to bill about 1400 hours, no weekend work. Typical hours in office are from 10:00 AM to 6:30 PM. Small subset of corporate. These jobs exist and are out there if you look hard enough.

Happy to take questions.

How do you know that your firm is satisfied with your productivity? In my first year in big law, there were a few associates who billed only in the 1,500-hour range (because the firm was relatively slow). But that wasn't representative of what a typical year was like--and, indeed, many of those same associates billed well over 2,000 hours the following year.

OP here. Seems pretty standard firmwide.

Do you work at K&L Gates?

[Anonymous User]

OP here. LOL.

[parkslope]

Hi All,

For all of you who doubted it was out there, after working here for a little over a year I believe I have found the fabled midlaw. NYC, market pay, on pace to bill about 1400 hours, no weekend work. Typical hours in office are from 10:00 AM to 6:30 PM. Small subset of corporate. These jobs exist and are out there if you look hard enough.

Happy to take questions.

Can OP or someone else list the firms that are essentially mid-law unicorn jobs? I'm interested in NY and DC. Don't want to out anyone.

[Anonymous User]

Hi All,

For all of you who doubted it was out there, after working here for a little over a year I believe I have found the fabled midlaw. NYC, market pay, on pace to bill about 1400 hours, no weekend work. Typical hours in office are from 10:00 AM to 6:30 PM. Small subset of corporate. These jobs exist and are out there if you look hard enough.

Happy to take questions.

Can OP or someone else list the firms that are essentially mid-law unicorn jobs? I'm interested in NY and DC. Don't want to out anyone.

OP here. The problem with making a list is that its impossible to predict how your experience will be at most places. My current firm seems overall that kind of place but I would imagine at other firms it would depend heavily on practice group. Even at V10's there may be practice groups that are like this. Chambers profiles might be a good place to start.

[Anonymous User]

Heard Alston & Bird is a life style firm.

[Anonymous User]

What was the time line like for getting hired? Is this a place you summered? If so, were you the only summer? Did you find them through mass mailing, job posting, etc.? Were you hired as a 3L? After the bar?

[Anonymous User]

What was the time line like for getting hired? Is this a place you summered? If so, were you the only summer? Did you find them through mass mailing, job posting, etc.? Were you hired as a 3L? After the bar?

OP here. Summered. Decent-size summer class. Think 15-20 summers.

[rpupkin]

What was the time line like for getting hired? Is this a place you summered? If so, were you the only summer? Did you find them through mass mailing, job posting, etc.? Were you hired as a 3L? After the bar?

OP here. Summered. Decent-size summer class. Think 15-20 summers.

Wait....you're a first-year associate on pace to bill 1,400 hours? Uh, you really shouldn't be drawing general conclusions about your firm right now.

[Anonymous User]

What was the time line like for getting hired? Is this a place you summered? If so, were you the only summer? Did you find them through mass mailing, job posting, etc.? Were you hired as a 3L? After the bar?

OP here. Summered. Decent-size summer class. Think 15-20 summers.

Wait....you're a first-year associate on pace to bill 1,400 hours? Uh, you really shouldn't be drawing general conclusions about your firm right now.

OP here. 2nd year. And I'm not drawing general conclusions based on nothing. I know other people's hours.

[rpupkin]

OP here. 2nd year. And I'm not drawing general conclusions based on nothing. I know other people's hours.

Sorry for being skeptical, but it's really hard for a decent-sized firm to be profitable (and hold onto its partners) in NYC if its associates are billing just 1,400 hours a year.

I believe that you, specifically, are just billing 1,400 hours. But do you really know that the same is true of most of the other associates as well? Something isn't adding up here.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. 2nd year. And I'm not drawing general conclusions based on nothing. I know other people's hours.

Sorry for being skeptical, but it's really hard for a decent-sized firm to be profitable (and hold onto its partners) in NYC if its associates are billing just 1,400 hours a year.

I believe that you, specifically, are just billing 1,400 hours. But do you really know that the same is true of most of the other associates as well? Something isn't adding up here.

OP here. No worries. I was skeptical at first too. While there are associates billing 1800-2000, they are few and far between and it seems to be more related to self-selection.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. 2nd year. And I'm not drawing general conclusions based on nothing. I know other people's hours.

Sorry for being skeptical, but it's really hard for a decent-sized firm to be profitable (and hold onto its partners) in NYC if its associates are billing just 1,400 hours a year.

I believe that you, specifically, are just billing 1,400 hours. But do you really know that the same is true of most of the other associates as well? Something isn't adding up here.

OP here. No worries. I was skeptical at first too. While there are associates billing 1800-2000, they are few and far between and it seems to be more related to self-selection.

[J90]

Would you be willing to PM me the firm name? Thanks!

[Desert Fox]

[MCFC]

A midlaw firm that takes 20 summers?

[rpupkin]

You are definitely profitable at 1400 but now way can you support high PPP that way. But I can see a small niche firm not having high PPP, nor needing it.

Agreed. But the OP said the firm pays market. And they hire 15 to 20 summer associates a year, so they're pretty big (they can't be that small and nichey). And NYC is expensive AF: rents aren't just high for millennials in studio apartments; it's also very costly for businesses to lease space there.

I know of midlevel firms in the Midwest and California where the hours are better than big law. But they don't pay market. And associates are generally billing 1700-2000, not 1400. Again, I believe the OP, but I suspect that those "self-selected" 1800-2000 hour associates are more common than he or she realizes.

[Traynor Brah]

A midlaw firm that takes 20 summers?

I.e. not midlaw

[Desert Fox]

[Anonymous User]

lol 20 summers. Jesus that must be a 200 person office.

I'm guessing OP is in a slow group in a normal firm and just doesn't realize they are about to get LAID OFF PWND

Or they work in ERISA and don't realize their group isn't representative of shit.

OP here. Not ERISA. You might be right on your other point though, I don't know.

[Desert Fox]

[DJ JD]

This thread did not go the way OP imagined.