Worth it to Lateral? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I lateraled out of NYC at the beginning of the 2nd quarter. I have been having a tough time at the new firm, feeling like there has been no effort at all to integrate me into the team. I work almost entirely with teams from other offices despite being in a major office and having good feedback from the people I've worked for. I had a couple of very slow months as I ramped up but have been billing over 200 for a few months now, so I don't think there are any performance issues. However, because of the slow months, and a non-calendar year fiscal year (which I didn't know about and wasn't indicated to me anywhere and frankly I'm really pissed about this cause I missed by less than 50 in the shortened year and will meet the calendar year goal), it looks like I'm going to miss my bonus entirely.

I have friends at another firm in the same city, equal quality firm in terms of practice area work and prestige. He lateraled around the same time (to a different group) but has had an entirely different experience in terms of integration. He's really enjoying it despite working more hours than he did in NYC. He has offered to pass my resume along if I want to hop to his firm. I know its probably too late in the year to get the year-end bonus at the new firm, but I also am not feeling any loyalty to my current place and hoping someone can help me think about this rationally.

Anonymous because posting history makes city clear.

TL;DR - Going to miss bonus because of oddity at firm and haven't been integrated after lateralling. Thinking about switching firms (same city, quality of work, prestige, pay). Thoughts?

[gregfootball2001]

If it's the same city, quality of work, prestige, and pay (and I'm discounting your bonus issue because you're not going to get a bonus from the new place and frankly you should have asked when your bonus year ends), then it comes down to the people you work with. Ask your friend to set up an introductory lunch or two with people in their group (preferably partners) and see how you click. If it's heads and shoulders better than where you are, consider the move. "Fit" is always a reason.

[Anonymous User]

Are you sure they're going to not give you a bonus? When I lateraled, my first-year hours were quite low and they still paid me a market bonus. It might be worth flagging the issue now. You know the firm best, but I would try to be in the middle ground between simply asking a question and fully advocating for yourself -- something like "When I moved over, I wasn't aware that the bonus year didn't line up with the fiscal year. My annualized hours would be [X], which is [well] above the bonus minimum. To help me plan, do you have a sense of how the firm normally treats these situations?"

Then if they give you a less-than-reassuring response, you can decide whether to raise a stink or just start polishing off your resume.