Exit options for Delaware firms Forum

[Anonymous User]

Just curious to see what the exit options are at Delaware firms like MNAT, RLF, Young Conaway, and Potter Anderson. Doesn't matter whether it's leaving or staying in Delaware and whether it's staying in law firm setting or doing something else like in-house. How are these Delaware firms regarded when someone from one of them tries to lateral into a biglaw or international companies?

[Anonymous User]

Just curious to see what the exit options are at Delaware firms like MNAT, RLF, Young Conaway, and Potter Anderson. Doesn't matter whether it's leaving or staying in Delaware and whether it's staying in law firm setting or doing something else like in-house. How are these Delaware firms regarded when someone from one of them tries to lateral into a biglaw or international companies?

bump. also curious

[Anonymous User]

Bump

[Anonymous User]

Figured i'd try bumpting this again. Considering an offer from one of the big4 and would love to hear if anyone who reads this has thoughts. Don't see myself staying long-term in DE, so exit ops are of particular interest to me.

[Anonymous User]

People have gone to national firms in Wilmington and abroad (e.g., New York, Philadelphia, D.C.,) as well as in-house. So, overall there are typically good exit options and recruiters call regularly.

[Anonymous User]

People have gone to national firms in Wilmington and abroad (e.g., New York, Philadelphia, D.C.,) as well as in-house. So, overall there are typically good exit options and recruiters call regularly.

That's good to hear. Are the recruiters generally headhunting companies that connect you to other employers for a fee, or do the employers' recruiters call you directly? Do they call you unsolicited or do you have to reach out first?

[Anonymous User]

I'm not in the DE market myself, but I am clerking here. I think a good gig could be striking out on your own or maybe with a few others to do local counsel work on small- to mid-size engagements. Could be pretty lucrative and low stress, though this obviously requires some entrepreneurial wherewithal. But I think "we do what the big 4 do, but cheaper" is a good pitch.

[Anonymous User]

People have gone to national firms in Wilmington and abroad (e.g., New York, Philadelphia, D.C.,) as well as in-house. So, overall there are typically good exit options and recruiters call regularly.

Know a few upperclassmen that have gone on to the DE firms. They all seemed very confident in their ability to go to other firms/companies down the road due to the fact that a lot of major firms/companies have to use local counsel on deals. I know one 3L who summered at a DE firm their 1L summer and when they were applying to firms for 2L in major markets, they had attorneys that knew some of the people they were working with at the DE firm because of the local counsel work. I think if you go about it the right away you could find yourself with a very valuable network

[eastcoast_iub]

I started at one of the Big 4 and moved to a top tier national firm relatively soon afterward. I kind of lucked into my position b/c I I went to a group that was having a hard time filling open spots and I also went to a T14 with a strong network at the firm. I know several others who started at DE who had difficulty escaping, although I also know several others who made it to top NY firms. So it's a mixed bag, but there is some risk.

The experience is not really transferable to national big law and the longer you stay in DE, the harder it will be to move outside of DE.

[Anonymous User]

So it's a mixed bag, but there is some risk.

[Anonymous User]

I started at one of the Big 4 and moved to a top tier national firm relatively soon afterward. I kind of lucked into my position b/c I I went to a group that was having a hard time filling open spots and I also went to a T14 with a strong network at the firm. I know several others who started at DE who had difficulty escaping, although I also know several others who made it to top NY firms. So it's a mixed bag, but there is some risk.

The experience is not really transferable to national big law and the longer you stay in DE, the harder it will be to move outside of DE.

This is helpful, thanks. Do you think there are certain practice areas and/or firms that set-up better or worse for leaving DE than others? FWIW, I'm considering an offer at MNAT.

[eastcoast_iub]

I started at one of the Big 4 and moved to a top tier national firm relatively soon afterward. I kind of lucked into my position b/c I I went to a group that was having a hard time filling open spots and I also went to a T14 with a strong network at the firm. I know several others who started at DE who had difficulty escaping, although I also know several others who made it to top NY firms. So it's a mixed bag, but there is some risk.

The experience is not really transferable to national big law and the longer you stay in DE, the harder it will be to move outside of DE.

This is helpful, thanks. Do you think there are certain practice areas and/or firms that set-up better or worse for leaving DE than others? FWIW, I'm considering an offer at MNAT.

Sorry for the delay here, litigation and bankruptcy are a bit more transferable IMO b/c they regularly work alongside national firms and do work that is closer to what a national firm does (unlike corporate counseling or alternative entities work).

It would also be easier to transfer out from the local office of a national firm (Skadden, WSGR) because of name recognition and b/c the DE practices there are more closely intertwined with the lead counsel work of their other offices since it is all in-house.

[Moneytrees]

Just curious to see what the exit options are at Delaware firms like MNAT, RLF, Young Conaway, and Potter Anderson. Doesn't matter whether it's leaving or staying in Delaware and whether it's staying in law firm setting or doing something else like in-house. How are these Delaware firms regarded when someone from one of them tries to lateral into a biglaw or international companies?

I know 2 lawyers from my T20 that lateraled to V50 firms in NYC after practicing in DE for 2/3 years. My sense is that for certain practice areas, working at a DE is a plus.

[Anonymous User]

I started at one of the Big Four in litigation and I'm still in Delaware, but at a office of a V50 firm. When I came here I was leaning towards leaving after a few years, but honestly the idea of having to study for another bar (basically no reciprocity) and also having to start over again socially somewhere else was enough to keep me here.

Anyone I knew who really wanted to go somewhere else seemed to find something, even people with more specialized Delaware transactional backgrounds. A lot of people ended up at V100 firms.

[Anonymous User]

I started at one of the Big Four in litigation and I'm still in Delaware, but at a office of a V50 firm. When I came here I was leaning towards leaving after a few years, but honestly the idea of having to study for another bar (basically no reciprocity) and also having to start over again socially somewhere else was enough to keep me here.

Anyone I knew who really wanted to go somewhere else seemed to find something, even people with more specialized Delaware transactional backgrounds. A lot of people ended up at V100 firms.

How was the lateraling experience during and after? Was your old firm supportive about it, with no drama between you and other attorneys from the old firm based on the departure (excluding, of course, personal conflicts)?

What made you want to lateral out?

[Anonymous User]

I started at one of the Big Four in litigation and I'm still in Delaware, but at a office of a V50 firm. When I came here I was leaning towards leaving after a few years, but honestly the idea of having to study for another bar (basically no reciprocity) and also having to start over again socially somewhere else was enough to keep me here.

Anyone I knew who really wanted to go somewhere else seemed to find something, even people with more specialized Delaware transactional backgrounds. A lot of people ended up at V100 firms.

How was the lateraling experience during and after? Was your old firm supportive about it, with no drama between you and other attorneys from the old firm based on the departure (excluding, of course, personal conflicts)?

What made you want to lateral out?

The lateraling experience moved very quickly. I applied at two different firms and then had "call-back" style interviews with both, and was offered at both. It was way less painful/exhausting than the job search in law school.

I think there are a few things that are different about lateraling in Delaware than elsewhere:
(1) because of attrition and how difficult it is to get barred in Delaware as a lateral, firms basically have a set pool of possible candidates in a practice area to choose from if they want an experienced mid-level or senior associate.
(2) the flip side is that you already know all the firms you could ever possibly work at in your practice area, and every associate in your practice area will be aware of job postings when they go public since the recruiters immediately start calling. That makes it easier I think to know if an open position is worth it or you want to wait for something else and you know the reputation of the people at the open position.
(3) as you may have gathered already, Delaware is a small state. The legal community is a small community, and your practice area is even smaller. Everyone knows everyone, there are only so many places to get lunch, and most of the firms are in the same downtown part of Wilmington. Assume that if you start interviewing with other firms, your current firm will find out (even if most people involved are trying to keep things confidential). So don't start applying until you're ready to commit to making a move.

My old firm was fine with it. It's part of the business model that they (the Big Four) bring in lots of first year associates and not all of them will be there forever, and the other Delaware firms absorb the rest (most other Delaware firms don't have first years). And again, it's a small town, and I still run into partners from my old firm out and about (excepting COVID times) and also am on matters with them. You can't really treat people who leave like traitors when you are all in line for the same food trucks. It also probably doesn't hurt that I always refer work to my old firm when possible.

I hope that helps. I think the small nature of Delaware also makes people hesitant to offer up advice based on their personal experiences since it's not really possible to remain anonymous to other Delaware attorneys who might be reading the thread after giving much detail.