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How to find lifestyle small-mid firms in nyc?
Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2020 3:05 am
by Anonymous User
Hi all,
I am hoping to work in a small-mid sized firm in nyc that has good (or at least not too horrible) work-life balance. The reason I specified small-mid is precisely because I am assuming there is no such thing as lifestyle biglaw firms.
I am looking for firms that specialize in civil litigation and pays 70~100k. If there are such firms, or if you could direct me to a website where I can find such information, it would be very helpful. I tried searching them on vault, but vault seems to list only super prestigious firms that are difficult to get into (please correct me if I'm wrong).
Thank you all in advance for your help!
Re: How to find lifestyle small-mid firms in nyc?
Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2020 11:04 am
by The Lsat Airbender
You'll be able to do better research if you define what you mean by "lifestyle," which FYI is mostly a sarcastic way that biglawyers refer to a normal 9-5 job.
Re: How to find lifestyle small-mid firms in nyc?
Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2020 6:19 pm
by Anonymous User
I work at a mid-size lifestyle firm in NYC. I'm a first year and make 90k. I do mostly civil litigation and employment work but some transactional as needed. The hours are 9-5 but super flexible. There isn't a lot of pressure and most people have kids (including me) and everyone is really understanding about it. They say the billable is a "soft 1800" but this is only the second year they've even had a billable and apparently they aren't too concerned about it people in the office have told me. They told me bonuses aren't tied to an hours amount/requirement. I also have 4 weeks of vacation.
I was pretty sure I didn't want to do biglaw because I knew I needed a more "lifestyle firm" because of the aforementioned kids. This firm posted on my school's job website so that's how I found it. That being said, I still dream of the biglaw money. Maybe thats because I don't know what a biglaw lifestyle really means. I would also look at firms that aren't based in NY but have a satellite office here. I think that takes some of the pressure off as satellite firms tend to be a smaller branch of a bigger firm. Good luck!
Re: How to find lifestyle small-mid firms in nyc?
Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2020 11:19 pm
by hyang1021
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Sun Nov 15, 2020 6:19 pm
I work at a mid-size lifestyle firm in NYC. I'm a first year and make 90k. I do mostly civil litigation and employment work but some transactional as needed. The hours are 9-5 but super flexible. There isn't a lot of pressure and most people have kids (including me) and everyone is really understanding about it. They say the billable is a "soft 1800" but this is only the second year they've even had a billable and apparently they aren't too concerned about it people in the office have told me. They told me bonuses aren't tied to an hours amount/requirement. I also have 4 weeks of vacation.
I was pretty sure I didn't want to do biglaw because I knew I needed a more "lifestyle firm" because of the aforementioned kids. This firm posted on my school's job website so that's how I found it. That being said, I still dream of the biglaw money. Maybe thats because I don't know what a biglaw lifestyle really means. I would also look at firms that aren't based in NY but have a satellite office here. I think that takes some of the pressure off as satellite firms tend to be a smaller branch of a bigger firm. Good luck!
OP here. Thank you so much for this comment. Your firm is exactly what I am looking for. I am searching for a less demanding job because of my newborn. Would you be able to discuss whether your firm is hiring (or the name of the firm)? It would be very much appreciated if you could either PM me or post another reply. Again, thanks for your input.
Re: How to find lifestyle small-mid firms in nyc?
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2020 12:34 am
by hyang1021
OP here again (i couldn't figure out how to edit my reply above). You could also email me at
hyang89@gmail.com if that would be more convenient for you. Thanks a lot.