Sidley v. Cadwalader, Willkie, & Pepper (NY) Forum

[Anonymous User]

I was fortunate enough to get an offer from Sidley Austin New York. I already had CB'S scheduled with the NY offices of Willkie, Cadwalader, and Pepper Hamilton.

I'm interested in Corporate work, and I would eventually like to end up in Texas. Would I be missing out on anything if I cancelled these callbacks? I don't want to waste anyone's time or take up an interview slot someone else would have wanted.

I know Sidley has a higher vault ranking, but I'm not sure how the fact it's (sort of) a satellite office of the Chicago HQ effects the relevance of the rankings. I'm also aware of the imperfect nature of using vault rankings to determine what firm to work at. Are any of these firms exceptionally well-regarded in a specific practice group? Do they have a noteworthy culture or work/life balance (as much as that term means within Biglaw)? Abnormally decent chance of partnership?

Any insight is appreciated, thanks in advance!

[Anonymous User]

Pepper's definitely not worth it. They don't have 100% offer rate. I would keep Willkie and ditch the rest. Sidley is definitely better than Cadwalader.

[Anonymous User]

Wilkie's NY office is significantly stronger in transactional work than Sidley. I would definitely not cancel that. I'd pick it over Sidley pretty much automatically if you got that offer.

[Tiago Splitter]

Wilkie's NY office is significantly stronger in transactional work than Sidley. I would definitely not cancel that. I'd pick it over Sidley pretty much automatically if you got that offer.

Willkie's Houston office only has 9 attorneys. Sidley has 30+ in Houston and 60+ in Dallas. If you really want to end up in Texas I'd think starting at Sidley makes more sense.

[Anonymous User]

I disagree. I'd rather be at Wilkie and in the best position to lateral to a top Texas firm rather than hoping Sidley will let me transfer to their second tier Texas offices. FWIW, in my experience, folks on this board assume that office transfers are much easier to accomplish than they actually are. If a firm is overstaffed in the office you want to move to, or you're rated (informally or formally, depending on the firm) in the bottom half of your class, good luck getting that transfer. 3 of my friends from law school have had to leave their firms because they asked to move to a different office and their firm told them to pound sand.

[Anonymous User]

What's pound sand mean?

Did the office tell them no they could not move, or did they lay them off?

[jbagelboy]

interview with Willkie

[Tiago Splitter]

I mean is Willlllkie instead of Sidley really gonna make the difference in landing a top tier Texas firm? At the very least OP should investigate how easy it is to move within Sidley. Maybe talk to some associates on a second visit.

[jbagelboy]

I mean is Willlllkie instead of Sidley really gonna make the difference in landing a top tier Texas firm? At the very least OP should investigate how easy it is to move within Sidley. Maybe talk to some associates on a second visit.

Well I still think Sidley would be better but this is just whether OP goes on the callback at all, and idk.. its nice to consider at least one alternative to gain some perspective.

[Tiago Splitter]

Oh yeah I agree he should interview with Willkie.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for the advice everyone; gonna go on the Willkie CB.