Help me choose an offer Forum

[Anonymous User]

Door A: $140,000 salary. 1950 hour requirement. 45minute commute each way. Negligible annual bonus. Litigation, heavy on motion-writing, rarely go to trial, handle own cases.
DoorB: $100,000 salary. 2100 salary requirement. 10minute commute each way. 15-20k annual bonus. Litigation, cases more often go to trial, handle own cases.

Thank you!

[Splurgles23]

Edited in light of OP changing info in the original post. I agree with others at this salary differential.

[Barrred]

I'd go with Option A. $40K more a year + lower hours requirement makes up for the hour extra commute each day. If you can work from home a day or two a week, that 45 min. commute each way looks even more bearable. (Also, if the bonus is really negligible, maybe there isn't really pressure to meet the 1950 requirement, since they have no enforcement mechanism besides firing you, which wont happen at least for the first couple years.)

[Edited to reflect corrected salary for Option B]

[Anonymous User]

OP here, the second offer is actually $100,000 not $110,000 that was a typo.

Thanks for your responses thus far!

[papermateflair]

Option A for sure. I hate commuting, but the extra money AND lower billable hour requirement sounds like it's worth it. Why work extra for less money, EVEN with the bonus? You can always move closer if you really dislike the commute, or lateral to the other firm in a couple of years. The bonus is never a guarantee anyway, especially with that high billable requirement (2100 to be bonus eligible is pretty high, in my opinion).

[Elston Gunn]

That daily commute makes a huge difference in quality of life, imo. Add in the bonus, and I'd go with Door B easy choice, assuming upward trajectory / chances of career advancement are similar.

Did you not notice that the closer place has a 2100 hour requirement?

2100 is *a lot* to have as an assumed minimum. What are the consequences for not hitting your hours? Just no bonus? I would go with A for sure, even recognizing you could easily end up working more some years at A.

[totesTheGoat]

What kind of personality do you have? Are you a workaholic, or are you working for the paycheck? If you're somebody who enjoys the work and sees yourself liking the always-on lifestyle, then go with B. If you care more about making good money and having some semblance of work-life balance, go with A despite the larger commute.

[Anonymous User]

What kind of personality do you have? Are you a workaholic, or are you working for the paycheck? If you're somebody who enjoys the work and sees yourself liking the always-on lifestyle, then go with B. If you care more about making good money and having some semblance of work-life balance, go with A despite the larger commute.

OP here. Admittedly I am not the type of person to live for work. I would rather have some balance, do good work, and make decent money to spend time with my kids.

Thanks for your input.

[QContinuum]

Agree with the consensus re: Door A. Firm B's "cases more often going to trial" sounds tempting, but may not be worth much in practice. One, as a junior you're not going to be first-chairing any trials even if your firm goes to trial all the time. Two, that 2100 minimum is tough. You should pretty much expect to miss that target (and be no-bonused) for your stub and first years at the least. It's about even odds that you'd miss that target even for your second year.

So in other words, as a junior, Door B is, in reality, all downside (lower salary, likely $0 bonus for the first year and half at least, likely further away from billable minimum for the first year and half at least) with minimal upside (10 vs. 45-minute commute). Start at Firm A. If, in a few years, you realize you're really not getting enough meaningful trial experience at A, then consider lateraling to B (or another firm). B starts to look like a much better option as a midlevel, once you actually have the seniority to start taking advantage of the firm's trial-heavy approach. (And by the time you're a midlevel, you're more likely to be able to distinguish yourself as a superstar and hit that 2100 minimum. Pretty hard to stand out in a positive way as a stub/first-year.)

Congrats on your offers!

[nealric]

Door A for sure. The promise of trial can be ephemeral, and there's no guarantee you'd do anything substantive.