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Can someone who's wiser than I am tell me how much to value money when I'm evaluating peer firms?

I'm stuck between WLRK and CSM. I like the people at CSM far more--the WLRK people seem like they're on a different wavelength than me (more intellectual/intense). But it's so hard for me to walk away from that WLRK money, which would really add up over a few years.

If WLRK and CSM paid the same amount, or even close, I'd take CSM. The money has me torn. Should fit win out here, or should the $$ put WLRK over the top?

this question is impossible to answer without knowing your personal financial situation, debts, or material desires

candidatesoup wrote:this question is impossible to answer without knowing your personal financial situation, debts, or material desires

OP here. I want to live a comfortable, though not extravagant, life in New York. As in, good apartment in a nice neighborhood, but I don't need to have the fanciest appliances or go to chic restaurants.

I'm worried that at both places I'll end up working brutally hard, and if I go to CSM I'll wonder why I didn't take the money for all my trouble.

Wlrk is also considered to be a notch above CSM in prestige and is significantly more selective. Wachtell is like YLS and CSM is like HLS. So if those things matter to you, might also be a way to make your decision.

Just curious how you decided that the people at WLRK are more intellectual/intense than the people at CSM. How many people have you met at each firm? Have you gone for second looks and/or attended offer dinners or receptions at each? WLRK interviews are notorious for being substantive rather than chit chat, which may give the impression of greater intensity or intellectualism. But the people I’ve met at WLRK are pretty down to earth. You should try to meet more people, outside the interview context, if you haven’t already.

You're going to spend far too much time at either firm to work at a place that's a bad fit. Also, WLRK and CSM aren't that different in terms of preftige, to the extent you care about that. Go to CSM.

Honestly, it’s hard for me to imagine that someone for whom CSM is a good fit would not find WLRK a good fit too. More similarities than differences, except WLRK pays a lot more. Unless you’re dying for a practice area that CSM has and WLRK doesn’t, I’d go to WLRK.

Anonymous User wrote:Just curious how you decided that the people at WLRK are more intellectual/intense than the people at CSM. How many people have you met at each firm? Have you gone for second looks and/or attended offer dinners or receptions at each? WLRK interviews are notorious for being substantive rather than chit chat, which may give the impression of greater intensity or intellectualism. But the people I’ve met at WLRK are pretty down to earth. You should try to meet more people, outside the interview context, if you haven’t already.

I've met people outside the interview context, yeah.

Truly a dumb question, no one picks Cravath over Wachtell. The same reason no one willingly throws away hundreds of thousands dollars in the trash.

smokeylarue wrote:Truly a dumb question, no one picks Cravath over Wachtell. The same reason no one willingly throws away hundreds of thousands dollars in the trash.

That's not true.

There was a guy my year in law school who did exactly that, summered at WLRK and switched to CSM during 3L. A few more had WLRK offers but went elsewhere (at least one to CSM and one to DPW).

A girl a year above did her 1L summer at WLRK and her 2L summer at CSM, then picked CSM.

Not everyone has the exact same priorities you do, though I hear you on money being valuable.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Just curious how you decided that the people at WLRK are more intellectual/intense than the people at CSM. How many people have you met at each firm? Have you gone for second looks and/or attended offer dinners or receptions at each? WLRK interviews are notorious for being substantive rather than chit chat, which may give the impression of greater intensity or intellectualism. But the people I’ve met at WLRK are pretty down to earth. You should try to meet more people, outside the interview context, if you haven’t already.

I've met people outside the interview context, yeah.

Quoted poster here. Obviously I can’t judge the basis on which you reached your conclusion. My experience is different. But if you’re confident that you wouldn’t be happy at WLRK, I wouldn’t go there just for the money. Life’s too short. On the other hand, if you’re not sure of that conclusion, then I’d suggest meeting more people, talking to people at your school who summered there and generally trying to gather more info. Either way, I wish you the best of luck.

LOL @ WLRK being YLS and CSM being HLS.

WLRK is YLS and CSM is Duke.

OP, go to WLRK for the summer. If you hate it, reinterview at DPW/S&C/CSM and go there after graduation. But at least have the permanent prestige of WLRK on your resume. It's an invaluable signaling device for the rest of your legal career.

But I also agree that you should freaking get paid and there is no reason to go to a firm that doesn't pay at the top of the market for your resume versus on that does.

I don't work at either of the firms. I work at a different NYC biglaw firm.

If prestige means anything to you, let me tell you this. WLRK is far more prestigious than Cravath. So many of my classmates went to Cravath. Some of them impressive. Others not at all in my standards. On the other hand, few of my classmates went to WLRK and those that went to WLRK were all some of the smartest and most driven people I ever met in my life. That's the difference between the two. People will have clearly higher expectations about you if you work at WLRK rather than Cravath.

I made the same decision, and unless you're independently wealthy WLRK is a slam dunk IMO. Even if you don't want nice things, an extra 500k in the bank when you leave in 4 years means you can retire a few years earlier. WLRK also opens more doors (not that CSM alums are hurting for opportunities), gives you more/better experience early on, and is honestly a great place to work. Your hours will be basically the same either way. You can't possibly learn enough about either place to know which you'll enjoy more, so go with the one you know will pay you way, way more.

I know exactly who you are and I know for a fact you don't have these offers hahaha so why are you posting this! You literally got dinged by Simpson so no way do you have both of these...

Anonymous User wrote:I know exactly who you are and I know for a fact you don't have these offers hahaha so why are you posting this! You literally got dinged by Simpson so no way do you have both of these...

Lol, how could you possibly know who the OP is? They literally have posted no identifying information.

Anonymous User wrote:I know exactly who you are and I know for a fact you don't have these offers hahaha so why are you posting this! You literally got dinged by Simpson so no way do you have both of these...

WTF??

nixy wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I know exactly who you are and I know for a fact you don't have these offers hahaha so why are you posting this! You literally got dinged by Simpson so no way do you have both of these...

WTF??

Yeah, not sure how this guy could know.

For what it's worth, I had a WLRK callback and a Cravath offer and I didn't get past my Simpson screener.

Anonymous User wrote:

nixy wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I know exactly who you are and I know for a fact you don't have these offers hahaha so why are you posting this! You literally got dinged by Simpson so no way do you have both of these...

WTF??

Yeah, not sure how this guy could know.

For what it's worth, I had a WLRK callback and a Cravath offer and I didn't get past my Simpson screener.

Simpson > CSM and WLRK confirmed

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

nixy wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I know exactly who you are and I know for a fact you don't have these offers hahaha so why are you posting this! You literally got dinged by Simpson so no way do you have both of these...

WTF??

Yeah, not sure how this guy could know.

For what it's worth, I had a WLRK callback and a Cravath offer and I didn't get past my Simpson screener.

Simpson > CSM and WLRK confirmed

in all seriousness though, this stuff is semi-random. got an offer at both WLRK and CSM but no callback at multiple other firms generally considered lower-tier

Anonymous User wrote:I made the same decision, and unless you're independently wealthy WLRK is a slam dunk IMO. Even if you don't want nice things, an extra 500k in the bank when you leave in 4 years means you can retire a few years earlier. WLRK also opens more doors (not that CSM alums are hurting for opportunities), gives you more/better experience early on, and is honestly a great place to work. Your hours will be basically the same either way. You can't possibly learn enough about either place to know which you'll enjoy more, so go with the one you know will pay you way, way more.

Can you describe your experience working at WLRK?

shameless bump to see if above guy responds

I say take WLRK. If you don't like it, you've got a decent shot at getting CSM as a 3L (I think). Obviously you couldn't do this in reverse, but the prestige gap between the two is real. One of my classmates did WLRK 2L, didn't like it, "mass-mailed" the V10 as a 3L, and ended up taking an offer at STB.

I just made this same choice. Had the same struggle as you did, but I picked WKLR ultimately. You can go somewhere else after 3L if you hate it and you’ll always have it on your resume. I did end up finding non-intense and normal people here too—they just aren’t necessarily the first people you meet as many are 1st and 2nd years who don’t really interview or anything.

Also, I promise I am fun and am on a very normal wave length. I like drinking and going out until 4am and don’t read the SCOTUS blog for fun or anything (though I will admit I do enjoy school too). I think there are quite a few of us so hopefully we can make it a fun summer too. Don’t know if this makes you feel better. I would just try it out.

This is silly, Wachtell is the obvious answer. If you want a nicer firm with better hours, the decision would never be Wachtell v Cravath anyway