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V100 corporate associate. Just got an offer from a V50 Tokyo position with generous cost of living adjustment. I can pay my loans off twice faster if I join, but hesitant because I don't know if I can make it back to the US after a few years.

Any ideas? Have any of you seen someone make it back to the US?

I am an in house for a tech company in Tokyo. I know some of my friends started in Asia, and they have all said it's quite difficult to go back to US. But, if you are a mid level and have prior experience from the states, it shouldn't be a problem.

Anonymous User wrote:I am an in house for a tech company in Tokyo. I know some of my friends started in Asia, and they have all said it's quite difficult to go back to US. But, if you are a mid level and have prior experience from the states, it shouldn't be a problem.

Hi,

Thanks for the info. I actually only had less than a year so far, and likely will be joining early next year at around 1.5 year mark if I were to accept.

Also, I should note that the corporate practice I am in is a niche area that’s different from what the firm is doing in Japan.

Do you think I may be able to come back to the US for a general corporate role after 3-5 years in Japan??

There is a massive disparity between firms in Asia and that will directly play into your prospects returning. If it’s a Skadden, LW, GDC in Asia, generally, that’s one thing and those people can crush the return as they are doing a lot more registered SEC offerings and meaningful M&A...others do basically high yield bond offerings and you may be stuck...that’s not one to play with if the V50 means not V10 and you are looking at a firm that “specializes” in that lower end of the fee spectrum (e.g., high yield).

Literally, it can either be a career accelerator or compete mess depending on firm and how you position yourself for the return. Be prepared to build on what you do in Tokyo, not run from it as you think about the US return though.

were you recruited by recruiter ? How did you come across this opportunity , could you share a bit of that?

Is this MoFo? If so, the pathway back is not as difficult, at least to other MoFo offices. Tokyo is their second biggest money maker and it's more of a full service shop than a satellite. I know more than a few lawyers who have moved back and forth. Where they started did not seem to matter.