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Hello all,

I'm in the midst of the lateral hiring process, looking to make my jump from the firm I've been with since I was a summer associate a few years ago.

My question is- how long did it take for you to receive a lateral offer from a Big Law firm after you went in for an interview? Had an interview on a Monday afternoon, was told the firm would be in touch with an update soon after internal discussions, and a the remainder of the week went by with nothing.

Should I write this off as a firm that isn't interested in me? How long does a job offer normally take?

Thanks in advance!

I applied on a Wednesday and by Monday I received notice from the recruiter I’m working with that I should expect an offer that week. I think anytime during the week following the interview is reasonable.

There are a lot of factors. I’ve found out within a day before, but I’ve also had to wait 2 months.

When successful, almost always within a week.

When unsuccessful, a week to a month-plus.

I once waited almost 5 months from interview to offer. It really depends on how eager the firm is to hire. In my case, it wasn't for a posted position and the firm wanted to wait a few months to see if they had a temporary demand spike or if they had an ongoing need.

If the job is posted on the website, does that indicate a more immediate need?

Also, does the fact that the timeline from resume/materials submission -> screener -> callback was under 1 week for each stage signal anything about the timeline from CB -> offer?

Do offers typically come directly (by phone call from a partner or something), or if using a recruiter, do they call the recruiter and have them share the offer with the candidate?

Anonymous User wrote:If the job is posted on the website, does that indicate a more immediate need?

Also, does the fact that the timeline from resume/materials submission -> screener -> callback was under 1 week for each stage signal anything about the timeline from CB -> offer?

Anon with the 5 month story. Not necessarily. I did one interview for a posted position where they hemmed and hawed for months then decided not to hire anyone.

Timeline to screener and callback is irrelevant. That's likely more of an administrative thing. My 5 month wait went straight to callback a week after application. Then crickets...

You just never know. I also know people who zoomed through the lateral process in a couple weeks.

I just went through the lateral process. I did a call-back interview on a Friday and got a verbal offer on Monday.

Anonymous User wrote:I just went through the lateral process. I did a call-back interview on a Friday and got a verbal offer on Monday.

Did you accept? If so, how long between offer and your first day at the new firm?

It depends when you apply, too.

I should’ve started looking in the early summer. It’s now mid-October and the firms I’m interviewing with seem to be completely fine waiting until January to hire for the position (which means they’ll wait for MORE associates to apply), whereas I know that in “off” months, firms are really looking to hire asap.

Does anyone know how many people firms usually call back for lateral interviews? I know for entry level (not OCI, but 3L), firms had around 4-5 interviewees for one position. Is it safe to say that there are roughly 4-5 callbacks at the junior lateral stage? Just trying to grasp how likely an offer is (have had 5 callbacks recently and kind of need to leave at this point because my colleagues definitely know I’m looking to lateral).