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Looking to crowdsource some collective TLS wisdom regarding an opportunity to lateral.

Currently a midlevel at a well-respected regional firm (500 or attorneys) in a secondary market. Summered there as a 2L. I have built up a strong reputation and goodwill within my group and genuinely like my colleagues. I have annualized around 2200 since joining the firm, and comp has never been an issue.

I have an offer from a V50, which would result in about a 40% increase in comp and would expose me to much higher profile matters and clients. While I liked the people I interviewed with, I am having some unexpected heartburn about leaving my current, comfortable job for a (much) higher-paying unknown. I initially thought leaving would be easy, but my current gig is the only legal job I've had, and the thought of "starting over" is giving me second thoughts.

I'm sure this is not a feeling unique to me or my situation, so hoping TLS has some words of wisdom or anecdotal advice. Thanks in advance!

I was in the same general position as you (except that I billed far less at my first firm) and I took the money. QoL went down, but for every year I work now, I save as much as if I worked 2-3, maybe even 4, years at my old firm. I’m FI/RE minded, and with compounding interest, that makes a huge difference financially. Overall, not sure it was worth it, but you only get one life to judge. I think I would have become resentful over the years if I had stayed because of the pay, even though I really liked everyone I worked with and had a straight shot to partnership. I am pretty sure I don’t want to be at a firm forever, so the prestige of my new firm works in my favor for exit opportunities; and the partnership opportunity at my old firm wasn’t that attractive since I didn’t really want it.

It’s funny, firm life is pretty tough on a general day to day level, but there are a lot of inefficiencies that lawyers can take advantage of to improve their positions—for example, lateraling to a new firm where you work the same hours but make significantly more money; billing just enough to not get fired but still making the same salary (minus bonus) as someone billing 3000hrs. You just need to figure out how much you’re willing to game the system, deal with discomfort, etc. And this depends on your long term goals. You also need to strike when the iron is hot. The lateral market, special bonuses, etc., these don’t come around very often!

Best of luck.

OP: Based on the limited information shared in your thread-starting post, this should be a personal decision which should be based on your priorities rather than on a fear of missing out.

Dealing with higher profile clients and matters is important if seeking to eventually leave biglaw to go in-house. Dealing with higher profile clients & matters is important if it exposes you to more sophisticated, cutting-edge issues.

Do you feel restrained in your professional growth at your current firm ? If so, is this important to you ?

If yes, then making a move to a more sophisticated practice at a higher paying more prestigious firm might be a good move from a professional development standpoint.

FWIW Currently undergoing a somewhat similar situation with a family member although the pay difference is much more than 40%. Fortunately, both opportunities are with very sophisticated firms which serve the top corporations. Oddly, the higher paying firm is a bit less prestigious & works on fewer cutting-edge problems.

P.S. OP: I do recognize that, as a mid-level with the same firm, you are about to become fully vested in firm contributions to your retirement account. This fact lessens the compensation difference to a slight extent and should be considered.