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Hi! I’m a 2L who’s having a lot of trouble deciding between going to Foley & Lardner in their “business law” practice in a secondary midwest market (my significant other is there) versus going to White & Case or Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago. Would going to Foley make it extremely difficult to lateral to a higher ranked firm after a couple of years?

How is this even a question? Go to Kirkland.

Do you want to work in Wisconsin or in Chicago long-term? If Wisconsin, just go to Foley. You'll end up trying to move there anyway, as it's the top dog in WI, and its comp is so high for the market that you're not giving up that much by starting there. If Illinois, I don't think it would make sense to turn down Kirkland in favor of Foley just to try to move back to Kirkland in a couple of years. Needless to say, Vault is not especially useful comparing the top firm in a secondary/tertiary market to the top firm in Chicago, where you want to live should drive the train here.

Agree with Iowahawk. Where you want to live should drive the train here. That being said, if you're unsure and think you might lateral to a different market or higher ranked Vault firm at some point, K&E is obviously the correct answer.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:07 pm

Hi! I’m a 2L who’s having a lot of trouble deciding between going to Foley & Lardner in their “business law” practice in a secondary midwest market (my significant other is there) versus going to White & Case or Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago. Would going to Foley make it extremely difficult to lateral to a higher ranked firm after a couple of years?

Kirkland, obviously.

sparty99 wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 18, 2021 2:45 am

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:07 pm

Hi! I’m a 2L who’s having a lot of trouble deciding between going to Foley & Lardner in their “business law” practice in a secondary midwest market (my significant other is there) versus going to White & Case or Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago. Would going to Foley make it extremely difficult to lateral to a higher ranked firm after a couple of years?

Kirkland, obviously.

Not obvious if OP plans to settle down in MKE with his girlfriend. OP really needs to consider the future of his/her relationship and where they want to live.

Who said OP is a male and has a girlfriend? Although the question is so dumb, OP is probably a male. Also, OP did not say it was Milwaukee. Could also be Madison. Either way, figure it out, OP. This isn't Dr. Phil. The reason why you are confused is because you know professionally that Chicago and Kirkland are better choices. And you are reluctantly considering Foley because someone you are not married to lives there. Lauren Conrad from the Hills did not go to Paris so she could stay with Jason in California.

Answering the question that we can answer without delving into OP’s personal life: if you start at Foley in Madison or Milwaukee, you will have a more difficult time lateraling to a bigger and better biglaw firm in Chicago (or NY/DC/LA/wherever) than if you started at Kirkland. But it is still possible to get a solid biglaw lateral job coming from Foley, which itself is a respectable biglaw firm.

Of course, if you start at Foley in Wisconsin because you’re trying to build a life with your significant other and they are uninterested in moving to Chicago, then hopefully you never cross this lateraling bridge anyway.

sparty99 wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 18, 2021 12:03 pm

Who said OP is a male and has a girlfriend? Although the question is so dumb, OP is probably a male. Also, OP did not say it was Milwaukee. Could also be Madison. Either way, figure it out, OP. This isn't Dr. Phil. The reason why you are confused is because you know professionally that Chicago and Kirkland are better choices. And you are reluctantly considering Foley because someone you are not married to lives there. Lauren Conrad from the Hills did not go to Paris so she could stay with Jason in California.

Chicago is only a better choice professionally if you want to live in Chicago. If you want to live in Wisconsin long-term, spending the first couple of years of your career at Foley will probably be at least as valuable as doing junior work at Kirkland.