Top Law Schools

Hey, I'm a new attorney (IP group) at Morgan Lewis who is a lateral hire from a small firm. Time's yours.

Any idea what the hours are like and/or what responsiveness expectations are for corporate associates?

You are very out-able right now, I'd recommend getting rid of some of the personal info.

Anonymous User wrote:Any idea what the hours are like and/or what responsiveness expectations are for corporate associates?

The billable hour requirement is 2000, but the atmosphere is very relaxed. Moreover, partners and senior associates seem to make it a priority that the associates have work to do and aren't sitting around. I can't speak for corporate associates directly. What I can say is that you are generally required to be "on-call." If you get an email on a Saturday night, you're expected to be ready to go.

Danger Zone wrote:You are very out-able right now, I'd recommend getting rid of some of the personal info.

Good idea.

If you had to work for another big firm with a startup focus, who would you choose?

Anonymous User wrote:Hey, I'm a new attorney (IP group) at Morgan Lewis who is a lateral hire from a small firm. Time's yours.

Did you start at a small firm, and if so, was that intentional or did you strike out? Did you go to a top 10 school, and if not, what band (i.e. T-30) and rank?
What made you want to lateral? Mostly pay or mostly perceived learning opportunity?

Summer at Morgan Lewis, so anon. Idk if you have been through a bonus cycle yet, but based on your knowledge, do they pay market in major market offices, namely NY, DC, Chicago, SF.

Interested in Morgan Lewis, 2L here, did not get an SA with them but interviewed once. will summer at a mid-size law firm with strong reputation in the area where morgan lewis has a new office. Any advice to get a crack at the 3L hiring info? Is it possible for lateral from a non-IP segment?

Anonymous User wrote:Summer at Morgan Lewis, so anon. Idk if you have been through a bonus cycle yet, but based on your knowledge, do they pay market in major market offices, namely NY, DC, Chicago, SF.

I have not been through the bonus cycle yet, however, I researched this heavily with my recruiter before making the switch. At least in my office, Morgan tries to match the bonus structure of the top law firm in town. I don't believe they exceed the market amounts, but they try to match in an effort to maintain talent.

Anonymous User wrote:Interested in Morgan Lewis, 2L here, did not get an SA with them but interviewed once. will summer at a mid-size law firm with strong reputation in the area where morgan lewis has a new office. Any advice to get a crack at the 3L hiring info? Is it possible for lateral from a non-IP segment?

It's tough for me to give you much insight for 3L hiring. After graduation I spent some time building a book of business at a small law firm. I think you can certainly have some luck as a lateral in a non-IP group, but you shouldn't downplay the benefits of starting with a smaller law firm before transitioning to biglaw.

To be honest, I wouldn't have changed anything about my experience. I'm really glad that I didn't start at a firm like Morgan Lewis when I got out of law school. Starting with a small practice will usually give you the opportunity to build a book of business and gain independence, which is crucial as an attorney. You have to be able to rely on yourself to get answers and results. If you start at a large law firm, it will be very challenging to build any type of book when you are slammed with other people's clients.

I'm not sure if this is incredibly helpful, I hope it is though. Please follow up with a PM if you have other questions.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Hey, I'm a new attorney (IP group) at Morgan Lewis who is a lateral hire from a small firm. Time's yours.

Did you start at a small firm, and if so, was that intentional or did you strike out? Did you go to a top 10 school, and if not, what band (i.e. T-30) and rank?
What made you want to lateral? Mostly pay or mostly perceived learning opportunity?

I don't want to give too much personal info away, so I will say this: I went to law school at night and worked for a law firm as a patent agent during law school. I never went through the law school hiring process, so my track was entirely intentional. I went to a T2 school with a strong regional presence.

I decided to lateral because I wanted a better platform to grow my business, I moved with about a 60-100k book of business. Not self sustaining yet, but still something. I saw the move as a greater opportunity for my clients and better chance for me to handle a wider variety of legal issues that you just don't see at a smaller law firm.

But, as a I said for the other question, I think working at a small law firm gives you incredibly valuable experience, and it is the best way to grow a book of business. Once you have a book (regardless of size) your grades and law school become almost entirely irrelevant.

How long did you wait for an offer call from the time you last interviewed for a lateral position?

Jchance wrote:How long did you wait for an offer call from the time you last interviewed for a lateral position?

TBH I believe it was about 2-3 days, but I'd have to double check.

Anonymous User wrote:

Jchance wrote:How long did you wait for an offer call from the time you last interviewed for a lateral position?

TBH I believe it was about 2-3 days, but I'd have to double check.

Wow, that's really short. Can you go more into details about the procedures after you get a lateral offer? Like whether it was contingent on background check, conflict check, reference check, etc. and when these checks occur (before or after the offer).

Thanks for answering questions!

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Jchance wrote:How long did you wait for an offer call from the time you last interviewed for a lateral position?

TBH I believe it was about 2-3 days, but I'd have to double check.

Wow, that's really short. Can you go more into details about the procedures after you get a lateral offer? Like whether it was contingent on background check, conflict check, reference check, etc. and when these checks occur (before or after the offer).

Thanks for answering questions!

If I remember, shortly after the interview they will check that you are, in fact, an attorney and will check your educational background. Then, if the interview goes well and they decide to extend an offer, then they will do an in depth conflict check and background check. The final conflict check was the most stressful time, because you have already accepted the offer by that point and you don't want to have a deal breaker because of some direct conflict that could somehow scuttle the job. After the conflict and background check fully cleared, they will then wait for you to tell them when to perform the reference check. In my circumstance, at least one of my references was at the firm I was leaving, and I didn't want a reference check performed until after I gave my notice.

As for the timing being quick, I think they will know if they want you when they bring you in for the interview. At least that was my feeling.

^^Very helpful, thanks for this!

Hi OP, I'd love to ask you some questions - would you please PM me? Thank you!

I am a lateral from a small firm. I had two rounds of interviews and was asked to return conflict check paperwork 3 days after the second round. I haven't heard anything in over a week. Time to give up hope or follow up or neither? I was surprised that the conflict check came before the offer.

Bump. Can anyone elaborate on the below lateral process (conflicts first?)? Thinking of applying. Thank you

.