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Posted: **Mon Jul 02, 2018 5:25 pm**

My good friend, a former LS colleague, can no longer afford to live in CA. Killer taxes and sky-high home prices are unmanageable. She hoping to gain employment in Tennessee where her parents no reside. Does anyone have knowledge of firms in Memphis or Nashville?

Posted: **Mon Jul 02, 2018 6:18 pm**

I do. More Memphis but familiarity with Nashville.

Where in TN are the ties?

What type of firm is he/she working in now and what are his or her credentials?

Posted: **Mon Jul 02, 2018 9:49 pm**

Columbia, around 40M from N'ville. Transactional. At a V80. NYU LS. I'm guessing her income is around 180. I realize that N'ville COL isn't particularly low, but in comparison to CA, it is a lot better!

TIA

Posted: **Tue Jul 03, 2018 8:32 am**

Anonymous User wrote:Columbia, around 40M from N'ville. Transactional. At a V80. NYU LS. I'm guessing her income is around 180. I realize that N'ville COL isn't particularly low, but in comparison to CA, it is a lot better!

TIA

With her credentials, she should really have no problem getting a job at Bass Berry Sims (considered the best firm in Nashville). There is also Waller, Baker Donelson, and Bradley Arant.

The Nashville legal market is smaller and no major firms really have offices there.

I think the firms now start at 130k and probably max out around 180k for senior associates.

Tennessee doesn’t have state income tax, so she will have more than enough to live off in Nashville (people tend to over-exaggerate the cost of living because it used to be SO cheap).

She can get a nice apartment downtown for around $2000.

Posted: **Tue Jul 03, 2018 12:35 pm**

I am passing along your info. Thanks.

Good to hear that TN doesn’t have state tax! If she grossed $170 in TN, she’d match her CA net. Not bad. Thanks again.

Posted: **Tue Jul 03, 2018 1:46 pm**

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Columbia, around 40M from N'ville. Transactional. At a V80. NYU LS. I'm guessing her income is around 180. I realize that N'ville COL isn't particularly low, but in comparison to CA, it is a lot better!

TIA
With her credentials, she should really have no problem getting a job at Bass Berry Sims (considered the best firm in Nashville). There is also Waller, Baker Donelson, and Bradley Arant.

The Nashville legal market is smaller and no major firms really have offices there.

I think the firms now start at 130k and probably max out around 180k for senior associates.

Tennessee doesn’t have state income tax, so she will have more than enough to live off in Nashville (people tend to over-exaggerate the cost of living because it used to be SO cheap).

She can get a nice apartment downtown for around $2000.

This is accurate. There aren't really any traditional V100 firms because there isn't a huge transactional presence in TN outside of healthcare.

I would say the max out is probably even less than 180k, although that is fairly close. Raises are about 5k/year. No real bonuses, generally. She will get paid a lot less, but the net amount may be around the same or even more in TN.

Bass Berry Sims has the best transactional practice in Nashville. I think she has a good shot assuming they have an opening for laterals. Most of the Nashville firms aren't big enough to traditionally offer every summer so I assume they will take some laterals when given the opportunity.

There really isn't much transactional work at all in Memphis. More focused on labor & employment / insurance defense, and some other financial services litigation.

Posted: **Tue Jul 03, 2018 4:33 pm**

I think she originally wanted to work in healthcare. So, this is great news. Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

Posted: **Thu Jul 19, 2018 10:04 pm**