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I'm a 2014 graduate of a T6 school. All of my prior work experience has been in NYC and I am coming off of two years of clerking in NY (SDNY and Second Circuit). My partner unexpectedly got a job in Tacoma, and I'm now looking at the possibility of relocating to the Tacoma/Seattle area following my clerkship. What is the legal market like? I'm not particularly interested in any of the Biglaw firms -- would much prefer something in public service or a boutique litigation shop -- but I know literally nothing about the job market there and have no connection to the market (apart from the fact that my partner is from there).

Any advice would be appreciated!

The Seattle market is both insular and small. I would start making as many connections as you can. Especially for public service

I'd do this if I was you: pick a week to fly out to the area, and email firms saying you are in the area and would like to meet if they have time (while sending in your apps). I think you'd get a more positive response this way than cold applying.

Anonymous User wrote:I'd do this if I was you: pick a week to fly out to the area, and email firms saying you are in the area and would like to meet if they have time (while sending in your apps). I think you'd get a more positive response this way than cold applying.

This. Making the effort to fly out has worked before. It shows you are serious, and meeting face to face makes a stronger impression than a phone call.

Not me but a friend: T14, top 10%, law review ect.

As he told it, every interview began with 'so are you from Seattle?' (Negative: he was from Europe)

The next question was invariably 'do you have family here?' (Negative: Europe)

The third question, which he felt really clinched it, 'do you like rain?' (No strong opinions)

I think he interviewed at about a dozen firms. He really loved Seattle, because he had been there a year after coming into the U.S. and reminded him of home. Also he had a girlfriend there. But he never got any call backs and is now working for a V10.

Anonymous User wrote:Not me but a friend: T14, top 10%, law review ect.

As he told it, every interview began with 'so are you from Seattle?' (Negative: he was from Europe)

The next question was invariably 'do you have family here?' (Negative: Europe)

The third question, which he felt really clinched it, 'do you like rain?' (No strong opinions)

I think he interviewed at about a dozen firms. He really loved Seattle, because he had been there a year after coming into the U.S. and reminded him of home. Also he had a girlfriend there. But he never got any call backs and is now working for a V10.

Eh, I had worse stats, did exactly one Seattle screener and got a callback out of it just by casually lying about family without giving details. (I have a few family members reasonably close, just not actually in Seattle.) These are all just anecdotes; Seattle is obviously very hard to crack, and they like ties, but I sometimes question the hivemind when it comes to this stuff.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Not me but a friend: T14, top 10%, law review ect.

As he told it, every interview began with 'so are you from Seattle?' (Negative: he was from Europe)

The next question was invariably 'do you have family here?' (Negative: Europe)

The third question, which he felt really clinched it, 'do you like rain?' (No strong opinions)

I think he interviewed at about a dozen firms. He really loved Seattle, because he had been there a year after coming into the U.S. and reminded him of home. Also he had a girlfriend there. But he never got any call backs and is now working for a V10.

Eh, I had worse stats, did exactly one Seattle screener and got a callback out of it just by casually lying about family without giving details. (I have a few family members reasonably close, just not actually in Seattle.) These are all just anecdotes; Seattle is obviously very hard to crack, and they like ties, but I sometimes question the hivemind when it comes to this stuff.

I know someone median, lower-half-T14 who got Seattle with no ties by flying out there and doing informal interviews. Not something you can count on, but worth the effort if you have strong interest.

0L but have spent a lot of time working with lawyers and the legal community in Seattle. If you end up with free time, the King County Bar Association is a well-respected tight-knit volunteering community and a great place to network. They are ALWAYS looking for attorneys to volunteer (providing free legal advice to low income folks) for like 2 hours once every couple months. Every attorney I know loves doing it, too. Some higher profile Seattle attorneys volunteer quite often (public and private sector), and a bunch of firms sponsor the clinics.

PM me if you want any more details.