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Deciding between an exec comp/benefits position at a V5 and a transactional tax position at a V25.

There are several considerations that will go into the decision—many of them personal, but I wanted to find out what you all think about mobility. If I took V5 and wanted to transition to corporate or transactional tax down the line, is the brand name of the firm enough to carry me? Alternatively, are there any exit options that the V25 shuts down that would be open to me if I took the V5?

I think you’re looking at it the wrong way. First, congrats. Second, as has been mentioned any times in this forum, it’s not that easy to transition from exec comp to general transactional tax. The two don’t really overlap. If anything, exec comp overlaps with corporate more.

So, it really comes down to what you want to do. Also, you’re overemphasizing the vault rankings. People aren’t going to scoff at a Ropes or Paul Hastings associate.

If you want exec comp, take the V5 offer. If you want general transactional tax, take the V25 offer.

2013 wrote:If you want exec comp, take the V5 offer. If you want general transactional tax, take the V25 offer.

Seconding the above. And congrats on your great offers!

I agree with what others have said - it boils down to if you want to do exec comp or transactional tax. If you aren't sure what the actual differences are between the practice areas, pick up the phone and talk to some exec comp and federal tax associates at your potential firms - someone in recruiting should be able to connect you.

OP here. Thanks all! That’s pretty much what I figured, I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something. Many of my friends are so caught up in the “brand name” of the V5 (teams have formed) that they have me questioning my better instincts.

Anonymous User wrote:OP here. Thanks all! That’s pretty much what I figured, I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something. Many of my friends are so caught up in the “brand name” of the V5 (teams have formed) that they have me questioning my better instincts.

That’s ridiculous. No one really cares about vault rankings after they have a job (aside from people ceaselessly chasing prestige). Like I couldn’t tell you what my firm is ranked in Vault, nor do I really care.

2013 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:OP here. Thanks all! That’s pretty much what I figured, I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something. Many of my friends are so caught up in the “brand name” of the V5 (teams have formed) that they have me questioning my better instincts.

That’s ridiculous. No one really cares about vault rankings after they have a job (aside from people ceaselessly chasing prestige). Like I couldn’t tell you what my firm is ranked in Vault, nor do I really care.

Sorry, maybe I should clarify. I used the vault rankings to give you an idea without specifically saying which firm it is. My friends don’t care about the numerical ranking so much as the perceived prestige/super high end work and the notion that working there would open all kinds of doors. I guess I’m just not sure which doors I’m looking for that wouldn’t be open with the V25.

Anonymous User wrote:

2013 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:OP here. Thanks all! That’s pretty much what I figured, I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something. Many of my friends are so caught up in the “brand name” of the V5 (teams have formed) that they have me questioning my better instincts.

That’s ridiculous. No one really cares about vault rankings after they have a job (aside from people ceaselessly chasing prestige). Like I couldn’t tell you what my firm is ranked in Vault, nor do I really care.

Sorry, maybe I should clarify. I used the vault rankings to give you an idea without specifically saying which firm it is. My friends don’t care about the numerical ranking so much as the perceived prestige/super high end work and the notion that working there would open all kinds of doors. I guess I’m just not sure which doors I’m looking for that wouldn’t be open with the V25.

I’m just going to assume you have an offer at Skadden for Exec Comp and an offer from Ropes for gen tax (since those seem to be firms hiring regularly from the LLM programs). Yes, Skadden is superior to Ropes. But you’d be an exec comp associate within Skadden. The name will carry you to other exec comp positions later on, but having been an exec comp associate at Skadden won’t miraculously get you a job as a gen tax associate at Ropes later.

If your ultimate goal is to be a tax counsel in-house or a general tax attorney at a firm, it makes absolutely no sense to pigeonhole yourself into exec comp at Skadden just for the name.

2013 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

2013 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:OP here. Thanks all! That’s pretty much what I figured, I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something. Many of my friends are so caught up in the “brand name” of the V5 (teams have formed) that they have me questioning my better instincts.

That’s ridiculous. No one really cares about vault rankings after they have a job (aside from people ceaselessly chasing prestige). Like I couldn’t tell you what my firm is ranked in Vault, nor do I really care.

Sorry, maybe I should clarify. I used the vault rankings to give you an idea without specifically saying which firm it is. My friends don’t care about the numerical ranking so much as the perceived prestige/super high end work and the notion that working there would open all kinds of doors. I guess I’m just not sure which doors I’m looking for that wouldn’t be open with the V25.

I’m just going to assume you have an offer at Skadden for Exec Comp and an offer from Ropes for gen tax (since those seem to be firms hiring regularly from the LLM programs). Yes, Skadden is superior to Ropes. But you’d be an exec comp associate within Skadden. The name will carry you to other exec comp positions later on, but having been an exec comp associate at Skadden won’t miraculously get you a job as a gen tax associate at Ropes later.

If your ultimate goal is to be a tax counsel in-house or a general tax attorney at a firm, it makes absolutely no sense to pigeonhole yourself into exec comp at Skadden just for the name.

Thank you! If you don’t mind, I would like to PM you with a follow up.

Anonymous User wrote:

2013 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

2013 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:OP here. Thanks all! That’s pretty much what I figured, I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something. Many of my friends are so caught up in the “brand name” of the V5 (teams have formed) that they have me questioning my better instincts.

That’s ridiculous. No one really cares about vault rankings after they have a job (aside from people ceaselessly chasing prestige). Like I couldn’t tell you what my firm is ranked in Vault, nor do I really care.

Sorry, maybe I should clarify. I used the vault rankings to give you an idea without specifically saying which firm it is. My friends don’t care about the numerical ranking so much as the perceived prestige/super high end work and the notion that working there would open all kinds of doors. I guess I’m just not sure which doors I’m looking for that wouldn’t be open with the V25.

I’m just going to assume you have an offer at Skadden for Exec Comp and an offer from Ropes for gen tax (since those seem to be firms hiring regularly from the LLM programs). Yes, Skadden is superior to Ropes. But you’d be an exec comp associate within Skadden. The name will carry you to other exec comp positions later on, but having been an exec comp associate at Skadden won’t miraculously get you a job as a gen tax associate at Ropes later.

If your ultimate goal is to be a tax counsel in-house or a general tax attorney at a firm, it makes absolutely no sense to pigeonhole yourself into exec comp at Skadden just for the name.

Thank you! If you don’t mind, I would like to PM you with a follow up.

Sure

Except that if the tax position really is at Ropes, then OP should be aware that they make their juniors split their time between tax and exec comp and that eventual placement in tax is not guaranteed (that's what I was told at my callback last year).

OP, no question. You should take Federal Tax.

OP here. Thank you for the responses. If the above poster was wrong about Skadden and instead the V5 was Cravath/WLRK would that change anything? I’m thinking it changes the calculus some but maybe not enough to change the outcome.

No