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Hi all, I'm a 2L who has so far been into really hardcore public international law. I went through OCI because surprise surprise, public international law jobs are unicorn rare.

After OCI, I have a handful of offers from DC firms and I honestly have no idea where to go. The firms that have more significant "international" work (Steptoe, White & Case) I ended up not liking as much as firms that do mostly domestic stuff (Paul Weiss, Covington). Specifically, I jived so much better with people at the latter firms than the former, although my resume screams public international law.

I would like to eventually lateral to government doing some sort of international work whether that be through DOJ or State. Which firms might give me the best opportunity for this? Is it best to just go by gut feeling (how much I liked the people) because what the firm practices doesn't really matter? Which firms might have the best connections to getting gov't international work? Oh, and if possible, I would like to not be absolutely miserable for the 2-4 years at the firm.

Advice is much appreciated. Thank you.

What offers do you have to choose from?

OP here. The ones listed above - Steptoe, White & Case, Paul Weiss, Covington.

Not aware of Steptoe having an international pull on par with the other 3. Also, I just looked up their offer rate and I would not feel comfortable gambling on a sub-75% chance.

White & Case is probably the most internationally-oriented of the choices, but it has a reputation for unhappy associates... Look up AmLaw midlevel associate satisfaction survey. Maybe the DC office is different, I don't know.

Among your offers, Covington is the right answer (in my opinion).

PW DC is just an extension of the NY office's litigation group, so unless you want some variation of lit, I wouldn't do that. Anecdata, but a friend of one of my firm contacts works at White and Case and does all nighters at least once a week and hates life. Can't verify that, but it fits everything else I've heard. Covington is right at the top of the DC market for most everything, and probably a whole lot more stable than Steptoe, so I'd almost certainly pick that, even if it's the obvious "prestige" choice.

Outside of your current choices, something like Hogan Lovells is probably the best choice due to their post-merger worldliness and strong DC presence.