Exec Comp v. Fed Tax for LLM Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi all!

I was hoping some of you could provide your thoughts on general fed tax positions v exec compensation positions. I am an LLM student and have TIP (tax interview program) coming up. A ton of the positions are executive comp--it seems like the field is growing rapidly. It also seems, however, that many of the top students turn up their noses at the idea of executive comp. To me, it seems like a growing field, and it might be nice to get in before it's reached capacity. It also seems like there's interesting work to be done in light of recent tax reform. It also seems like the work life balance might be better in exec comp--they seem busy, but perhaps do not have as many late nights/weekends.

Still, I don't know if I should take a position like that and pigeon hole myself. Is there any mobility for exec comp lawyers? Can they make transitions to fed tax or go in house? Also, can tax generalists go the other way and become exec comp attorneys?

[Anonymous User]

I work in exec comp. the hours are only better if your firm does more consulting work instead of deal support. If your firm is deal support, the hours are terrible at times.

Edit to add: you won’t be able to transition from exec comp to gen tax later. Tax is niche in itself. Exec comp is even more narrow than tax.

Exit options are usually better for traditional benefits and exec comp attorneys who do 401(k) work. Can be benefits council or head of HR

[papermateflair]

I do benefits work generally (including some exec comp), and it's my impression that most people who are exec comp only are basically doing a ton of M&A work - so the hours are all over the place, although not as bad as if you're M&A only. On the other hand, you could have a position that does some exec comp and some traditional benefits, which may involve some M&A work but wouldn't be only serving M&A clients. If you're not sold on the idea of doing a ton of deal support, when you interview you should make sure to really ask about the type of work you would be doing at the firm.

It's not my impression that the exec comp area is growing at a rapid pace, but I could be wrong - we haven't seen like, a TON of new work because of tax reform, but a lot of that stuff is driven by the accounting firms.

I think it would be easier to start off as a tax generalist then transition to a specialist rather than going the other way, but I think most groups use "federal tax" to really mean a type of specialized work. Make sure you understand what it means to do "federal tax" (it's probably not "tax generalist") before you commit to it thinking you could specialize later.

[icansortofmath]

Most exec comp associates I've talked to indicate they got better hours than typical biglaw but that could be self-selection since busy associates probably show up at networking events less frequently.

My overall impression is it depends on the associate him/herself. Almost every firm has at least some benefits type of work to give you relatively steady hours if you want them but if you're gunning for hours and sexier assignments, you are going to have to be willing to take on some pretty intense assignments doing basically M&A deal support.

I asked about horizontal movement and they basically say you kind of settle into the role but if you want to do other work, there is really nothing stopping you in a law firm since you could pretty easily network into an assignment or even grab it off whatever assignment system they're using.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Do you know anyone who has had both transactional tax and executive comp opportunities and chosen exec comp?

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Do you know anyone who has had both transactional tax and executive comp opportunities and chosen exec comp?

I’m the anon reply. I know a couple people who had both options and took exec comp at the more prestigious firm (think Kirkland Exec Comp v. Stroock tax).

I personally would have taken a transactional tax position had I had the opportunity. As mentioned above, people do transition from gen tax to exec comp (mostly because gen tax is m&a and the skills are transferable).