Top Law Schools

I have limited my options to Cleary and S&C. Both NYC. I want to do M&A (doesn't have to be cross-border) and possibly capital markets. I really enjoyed the people I met at Cleary and believe it would be a great fit in terms of firm culture. I think S&C would be an ok, but not great, fit. I additionally like both assignment systems. My main concern is that Cleary's M&A group isn't the same caliber as S&C. Should this be a deciding factor? I'm leaning S&C.

Both are tops. Wouldn't sweat it too much. Personally, I'd go S&C bc culture is hard to figure out from interviews and they're better at M&A. But you can't really go wrong

The reason people stress culture and fit and Second Looks so much is because it's extremely unlikely you actually know what you want to do at this point. Given that both firms have stellar corp groups and your exit options will likely not vary, I would strongly suggest going with fit, especially because you will have to see those people and work with them on a day-to-day basis for much longer than you will want to, regardless of whether or not you actually like them.

And fwiw, S&C has a reputation for a certain kind of culture that Cleary (or DPW or STB) doesn't have, even though all those places will crush your social life about equally. Might be worth trusting your initial impression here?

S&C alum here. FWIW, I recall the 2 other firms that GP partners really admired were Wachtell (duh) and Cleary.