(Why) does New York offer better training for corporate juniors? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm a 2L deciding between law firms, with offers from NYC, SF, and Chicago.

I keep hearing that NYC offices will give juniors the best training, because firm headquarters are there and deals in NYC are more sophisticated/complex. But I also wonder if the sheer number of lawyers in most law firms' NYC offices makes the experience worse for juniors, as juniors only get to work on a narrow range of tasks.

So the question is: does NYC actually provide the best training opportunities for corporate juniors? Why or why not? Thanks!

[Anonymous User]

I've heard the same thing for the reasons you wrote. That being said, SF and Chicago are great corp. cities too. Just don't go to like, I don't know, Miami or San Diego or Los Angeles or something.

[trebekismyhero]

You'll get good training in any of those three assuming the firms are on the same par. Pick the one you want to live in

[Anonymous User]

What’s about sattelite offices is smaller markets?

[oblig.lawl.ref]

You'll get good training in any of those three assuming the firms are on the same par. Pick the one you want to live in

This. This should hinge on where you want to live, buddy.

[Wild Card]

I think it's known nationwide that NY associates are run into the ground and one has a slightly easier time anywhere else.

So if you pick NY and want to move to another market, you have that signalling power. If you start elsewhere and want to move to NY, you might have a harder time.

[DoveBodyWash]

It's best to measure your development by deal count and mixture than by year. NY offers better training (and shittier life) because--even adjusting for more lawyers--there are usually way more deals going on at any time. I think Kirkland Chicago is comparable to NY in that respect. Don't know SF market well enough but I'm sure there are firms that are just as busy. A first year in NY and one in LA aren't that far apart because they're first years. There's a lot of them relative to staffing demands and there's usually a ceiling on what they're asked to do. But the gap widens as the NY associate rises up the ranks. They become increasingly scarce as peers leave (attrition worse in NY) and thus expected to shoulder a larger share of the group's workload (which was already heavier to begin with)

[smokeylarue]

The only thing NYC will provide you more of is HOURS WORKED.

[almondjoy]

I've heard the same thing for the reasons you wrote. That being said, SF and Chicago are great corp. cities too. Just don't go to like, I don't know, Miami or San Diego or Los Angeles or something.

This is just so ignorant. Lol you just put la and Miami on the same tier.

[Anonymous User]

The only thing NYC will provide you more of is HOURS WORKED.

The problem is that the the more HOURS WORKED at transactional stuff, the better you get at it. So it’s important to find a firm that has lots of deal flow so that you have lots of HOURS WORKED and can build skills (and, if you’re interested in lateralling, a deal sheet) ASAP. Nothing worse than being a 4th year with no real capabilities because you managed your HOURS WORKED and are now a mid level basically only good for helping with CLIENT MEMOS and SIGNATURE PAGES.