What to look for in a litigation boutique? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm a mid-level year biglaw litigation associate trying to make my next move to a litigation boutique. I'm currently at a Cravath-type biglaw litigation in NY and a generalist. What I've heard so far is that I should look for:

- a shop that offers a variety of work (commercial lit + criminal white collar defense)
- partners that went to H/Y/S/C who went to top schools so I can learn from them.
- partners that are not too young and not too old such that they will be willing to teach me things but also won't be retiring too soon.
- a firm that ideally has at least one partner who went to my alma mater.

Is there anything else I should look for? And how do I look for them (aside from the obvious like firm news)?

[BlackAndOrange84]

I'm a mid-level year biglaw litigation associate trying to make my next move to a litigation boutique. I'm currently at a Cravath-type biglaw litigation in NY and a generalist. What I've heard so far is that I should look for:

- a shop that offers a variety of work (commercial lit + criminal white collar defense)
- partners that went to H/Y/S/C who went to top schools so I can learn from them.
- partners that are not too young and not too old such that they will be willing to teach me things but also won't be retiring too soon.
- a firm that ideally has at least one partner who went to my alma mater.

Is there anything else I should look for? And how do I look for them (aside from the obvious like firm news)?

I'm curious, because I've seen this in a couple of other threads—are you looking to lateral to a national-level boutique like Susman or a local NYC-centric boutique?

To answer your question: look for fit. From what I know, boutiques tend to have stronger cultures than generic biglaw firms and they can diverge wildly from each in other. They're going to be looking for fit, and you should too. Don't obsess over what schools people went to. Rather do they do work that you want to do and are they people who you'd want to work closely with?

[Anonymous User]

The problem is that it is really difficult to tell if they do the work I will like or are the people I will enjoy working for. A lot of them are salesmen putting on a show. I will be coming from Y/H/S + Cravath type biglaw shop + second circuit clerkship to a relatively new startup in NYC that no one seems to have heard of. Despite my credentials, I didn’t get any interviews with the prestigious lit boutiques in NYC (I’m also an URM with a version obviously ethnic last name). It’s been really discouraging seeing people with less than stellar credentials get interviews and offers from these elite lit boutiques, while I still can’t get my foot into the door no matter how hard I worked. So I worry that the culture at the elite litigation boutiques will not be a good fit for me anyway. Maybe I’m better off at one of these lower-tier places.

[Anonymous User]

Have you looked into Boies? Their attorneys have the credentials you’re looking for and they generally provide a more substantive associate experience (only about 30 associates in NYC).

[objctnyrhnr]

To answer question from original post, IMO, TCR is one of the two following things, depending on what your goals are:

1. Former ausas and/or evidence of frequent movement to usao

2. Associate directly to partnership prospects.

Good luck!