how to research a potential hedge fund opportunity Forum

[Anonymous User]

3rd yr at V10; currently looking at moving to a hedge fund. having some trouble getting good info on salaries, reputation etc. Anyone know where to look?

[RaceJudicata]

Wall Street Oasis

[Anonymous User]

Out of curiosity, is this a legal position or investment analyst position? How'd the offer come about?

Second WSO for this, but the data there will relate to investment positions, not legal. Generally speaking, compensation tends to vary based on the AUM (increasing as AUM does). Know two people who work at HFs in legal, and comp can get pretty high

[Anonymous User]

Since a lot of funds are small it can be hard to get good information. Linkedin possibly?

[RaceJudicata]

Out of curiosity, is this a legal position or investment analyst position? How'd the offer come about?

Second WSO for this, but the data there will relate to investment positions, not legal. Generally speaking, compensation tends to vary based on the AUM (increasing as AUM does). Know two people who work at HFs in legal, and comp can get pretty high

Comp will also depend on fund performance. Maybe a lesser extent in a legal role, but dat bonus is where the big bucks come from

[stig2014]

Hedge funds are notorious for not widely broadcasting information, best way to find info on them is to ask around with others working in the industry. Agree that WSO is a good resource. 0L here, so feel free to disregard as I'm not sure how the legal experience interacts with this, but I have some experience in this field. Feel free to PM and I can ask around as well.

[Anonymous User]

Out of curiosity, is this a legal position or investment analyst position? How'd the offer come about?

Second WSO for this, but the data there will relate to investment positions, not legal. Generally speaking, compensation tends to vary based on the AUM (increasing as AUM does). Know two people who work at HFs in legal, and comp can get pretty high

Thanks for all the replies.


Legal position. Recruiter.

WSO has zilch on this outfit. 7-10b AUM, so not a tiny place at all but also not one of the majors.

As for me, I have very little experience in this area, though I have great creds and great experience in a related area. Always been interested in it.

The fund seems cool, smart people, seems the lawyers stick around for a long time after they are hired.


My only worry is that I will somehow take a job that will detract from my resume rather than add to it. As in other employers will wonder why I took the job. Maybe that's just a dumb/novice worry?

[ruski]

i would just note that you will be a back-office person there which is a totally difference role. at a law firm you are front office. you bring in the revenue and get deals done. at the hf, you'll be the impediment to get deals done. the finance guys will want to close and then will be like oh no we have to run it by legal. just saying, while working at a hf sounds cool and interesting, its mostly cool and interesting for the front office guys. this is really true of any inhouse legal dept (its always going to be a cost center, not a revenue generator) but I feel like the difference is more pronounced at banks/hfs.

[Anonymous User]

i would just note that you will be a back-office person there which is a totally difference role. at a law firm you are front office. you bring in the revenue and get deals done. at the hf, you'll be the impediment to get deals done. the finance guys will want to close and then will be like oh no we have to run it by legal. just saying, while working at a hf sounds cool and interesting, its mostly cool and interesting for the front office guys. this is really true of any inhouse legal dept (its always going to be a cost center, not a revenue generator) but I feel like the difference is more pronounced at banks/hfs.

never really understood this point. My initial reaction is always "so what?" If being a revenue center means being pushed to work until i cant think, then what good is it?

[SemperLegal]

i would just note that you will be a back-office person there which is a totally difference role. at a law firm you are front office. you bring in the revenue and get deals done. at the hf, you'll be the impediment to get deals done. the finance guys will want to close and then will be like oh no we have to run it by legal. just saying, while working at a hf sounds cool and interesting, its mostly cool and interesting for the front office guys. this is really true of any inhouse legal dept (its always going to be a cost center, not a revenue generator) but I feel like the difference is more pronounced at banks/hfs.

never really understood this point. My initial reaction is always "so what?" If being a revenue center means being pushed to work until i cant think, then what good is it?

Compare how your firm treats and compensates recent JDs with no practical skills with how they treat experienced paralegals or trust accountants. Staff flies under the radar, but they are definitely treated as second class.

[Cogburn87]

Compare how your firm treats and compensates recent JDs with no practical skills with how they treat experienced paralegals or trust accountants. Staff flies under the radar, but they are definitely treated as second class.

sounds like your firm just treats everyone like shit. staff were treated much better than junior associates at the Biglaw firm I worked at. Especially experienced staff.

[ruski]

Compare how your firm treats and compensates recent JDs with no practical skills with how they treat experienced paralegals or trust accountants. Staff flies under the radar, but they are definitely treated as second class.

sounds like your firm just treats everyone like shit. staff were treated much better than junior associates at the Biglaw firm I worked at. Especially experienced staff.

you're missing the point. I didn't say you will be treated like shit (not necessarily anyways). but at a law firm, all the staff exist for one purpose: to service you so you keep on billing and generating revenue. their job is to keep you happy and billing. its just a different dynamic. you will now be part of the "staff." your job will be to keep the hf guys happy and "billing." again this is true of any inhouse dept, but depending on the industry, legal can have more of a role in strategy and overall business development. at a hf they just want to close deals, and legal/compliance dept only gets in the way of that

[Cogburn87]

Compare how your firm treats and compensates recent JDs with no practical skills with how they treat experienced paralegals or trust accountants. Staff flies under the radar, but they are definitely treated as second class.

sounds like your firm just treats everyone like shit. staff were treated much better than junior associates at the Biglaw firm I worked at. Especially experienced staff.

you're missing the point. I didn't say you will be treated like shit (not necessarily anyways). but at a law firm, all the staff exist for one purpose: to service you so you keep on billing and generating revenue. their job is to keep you happy and billing. its just a different dynamic. you will now be part of the "staff." your job will be to keep the hf guys happy and "billing."

didn't miss your point, brolo. wasn't even responding to you.

my own opinion is: who cares? it's office work either way. only goobers jerk themselves off on what REVENUE CENTERS they are and how much they ADD VALUE

[Magic Hat]

Compare how your firm treats and compensates recent JDs with no practical skills with how they treat experienced paralegals or trust accountants. Staff flies under the radar, but they are definitely treated as second class.

sounds like your firm just treats everyone like shit. staff were treated much better than junior associates at the Biglaw firm I worked at. Especially experienced staff.

you're missing the point. I didn't say you will be treated like shit (not necessarily anyways). but at a law firm, all the staff exist for one purpose: to service you so you keep on billing and generating revenue. their job is to keep you happy and billing. its just a different dynamic. you will now be part of the "staff." your job will be to keep the hf guys happy and "billing."

didn't miss your point, brolo. wasn't even responding to you.

my own opinion is: who cares? it's office work either way. only goobers jerk themselves off on what REVENUE CENTERS they are and how much they ADD VALUE

Goobers and, you know, guys who don't want to be shit canned the first time the fund takes a hit, being that HFs are fairly lean organizations driven by profit..

[SemperLegal]

Compare how your firm treats and compensates recent JDs with no practical skills with how they treat experienced paralegals or trust accountants. Staff flies under the radar, but they are definitely treated as second class.

sounds like your firm just treats everyone like shit. staff were treated much better than junior associates at the Biglaw firm I worked at. Especially experienced staff.

you're missing the point. I didn't say you will be treated like shit (not necessarily anyways). but at a law firm, all the staff exist for one purpose: to service you so you keep on billing and generating revenue. their job is to keep you happy and billing. its just a different dynamic. you will now be part of the "staff." your job will be to keep the hf guys happy and "billing."

didn't miss your point, brolo. wasn't even responding to you.

my own opinion is: who cares? it's office work either way. only goobers jerk themselves off on what REVENUE CENTERS they are and how much they ADD VALUE

Strangely aggressive.

Your boss cares if you're a revenue center or a cost. Since they are the ones interested in retaining you, you should to.

There is not a firm in the country that pays 20th year staff like first year attorneys, lays off attorneys as frequently as staff, or who makes sure their staff has whatever equipment/resources they need to do thier job. If my computer breaks, it gets fixed. If I can't get things to print right, IT takes over my screen and does it for me. If I work late, a nice ass car takes me home, I eat for free, and no one asks for proof, records or justification. If you think that's the usual for employees, maybe talk to your assistant more?

[Cogburn87]

Your boss cares if you're a revenue center or a cost. Since they are the ones interested in retaining you, you should to.

We are talking about a legal position at a hedge fund. Your boss understands that you are a cost center. You are not there to generate revenue.

There is not a firm in the country that pays 20th year staff like first year attorneys, lays off attorneys as frequently as staff, or who makes sure their staff has whatever equipment/resources they need to do thier job. If my computer breaks, it gets fixed. If I can't get things to print right, IT takes over my screen and does it for me. If I work late, a nice ass car takes me home, I eat for free, and no one asks for proof, records or justification. If you think that's the usual for employees, maybe talk to your assistant more?

I see now that when you said "second class" you were referring specifically to compensation and benefits. Of course staff get paid less and have fewer perks. I interpreted your comment to mean staff were treated poorly in terms of personal interactions, which was not my experience at all.