I am generally interested in corporate work, not banking though, but not sure which firm to pick. The advice so far that I've gotten is that every NY firm is a sweatshop so just pick whichever people you liked the best, but I feel like that ignores a lot of relevant factors. While these are all good options, it seems hard to actually distinguish between them, especially over Zoom. I am primarily concerned with: stable-ish hours (ideally not constant fire drills), getting to try different practice areas, culture/what the people are like, diversity considerations (I am a woman), exit options, associate dynamic with partners, and prestige outside of NY in the event I want to move markets. I really don't care about making partner or prestige for the sake of prestige. All of the firms fully paid their summer associates and did COVID special bonuses.
Simpson Thacher
pros:
- nice-ish but seem kind of awkward
modified lockstep and centralized staffing
stronger for M&A/PE
prestige outside of NY
no billable hours
cons:
- rotation system
less social
the partners I've met seem very intense
deferred first year associates until January
Debevoise
pros:
- culture? (they seem nicest)
fully lockstep and centralized staffing
diverse corp work but also good at M&A/PE
NYC focused
no billable hours
cons:
- rotation system
NYC/international focus
less social
new Hudson Yards office - harder to get to via public transit
Latham
pros:
- social culture (but also bro-y???)
unassigned system
associates committees (transparency and less hierarchical)
prestige outside of NY
new midtown office
emerging companies practice
cons:
- unassigned system (can be bad for women)
1900 billable requirement
semi black box bonuses (can be bad for women)
I would love to hear from any current/former associates at any of these firms about their experiences, especially in transactional groups. I'm also setting up calls with current associates to ask questions about their time at the firms.
