Biglaw in Secondary/Tertiary Markets Forum

[Anonymous User]

I accepted a SA position at a v100 in Florida (Tallahassee/Jacksonville/Orlando/Tampa, not Miami).

Is work/life balance likely to be better than it would be in NYC biglaw? Are options like Akerman/Gunster better for work/life balance?

Additionally, does this differ depending on whether you’re corporate or litigation? If so, how?

I’m grateful for the opportunity—I just want to get an honest idea of what to expect.

[CanadianWolf]

Well, you do get to live & work in an oceanfront Florida community or within a reasonable drive to the beach / ocean / gulf. So,if you consider the sound of rolling waves to be better than honking horns, then the quality of life is better even if the hours are equal.

One of your biggest problems may be where to go on vacation; that is not a problem for NYC based attorneys.

[Moneytrees]

I accepted a SA position at a v100 in Florida (Tallahassee/Jacksonville/Orlando/Tampa, not Miami).

Is work/life balance likely to be better than it would be in NYC biglaw? Are options like Akerman/Gunster better for work/life balance?

Additionally, does this differ depending on whether you’re corporate or litigation? If so, how?

I’m grateful for the opportunity—I just want to get an honest idea of what to expect.

Yeah, it will likely be better. Probably not great, in terms of quality of life, but not as bad as in NYC.

[Anonymous User]

Senior associate at a v50 in a secondary/tertiary market.

Vault rankings don't mean much in such markets.

I do think that work/life balance is better in my market than it would be at my firm's NYC office.

Some, but not all, firms have different billable requirements (and pay scales) in different markets.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for the feedback so far!

Senior associate at a v50 in a secondary/tertiary market.

Vault rankings don't mean much in such markets.

I do think that work/life balance is better in my market than it would be at my firm's NYC office.

Some, but not all, firms have different billable requirements (and pay scales) in different markets.

Oh for sure; I only mentioned that it's a v100 in case that had sway on hours expectations. It wasn't determinative in my choosing a firm (the pay and firm name were, admittedly).

My firm recently switched to the same pay scale in all markets, mine included. I know the formal hours expectation is the same across offices, but from what I understand, attorneys often work substantially over the formal hours expectation, right?

I'm also wondering whether culture is more likely to lean toward working from home in the evening hours instead of staying in the office until 9PM? Even differences like that would mean a lot to me.

[Anonymous User]

I'm at one of the firms OP mentioned, in one of those markets. In general, you should expect hours and expectations to be a little more reasonable than NYC, but it's still biglaw, which by its nature sometimes requires long hours, weekend work, etc. Litigation and other groups are probably slightly better than corporate - I think that's true nationwide, particularly at the moment.

[Anonymous User]

Echoing the consensus that hours should be better. Nice secondary/tertiary market gigs are very desirable jobs, congrats. Also yeah Vault doesn't matter much for them.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for the feedback so far!

Senior associate at a v50 in a secondary/tertiary market.

Vault rankings don't mean much in such markets.

I do think that work/life balance is better in my market than it would be at my firm's NYC office.

Some, but not all, firms have different billable requirements (and pay scales) in different markets.

Oh for sure; I only mentioned that it's a v100 in case that had sway on hours expectations. It wasn't determinative in my choosing a firm (the pay and firm name were, admittedly).

My firm recently switched to the same pay scale in all markets, mine included. I know the formal hours expectation is the same across offices, but from what I understand, attorneys often work substantially over the formal hours expectation, right?

I'm also wondering whether culture is more likely to lean toward working from home in the evening hours instead of staying in the office until 9PM? Even differences like that would mean a lot to me.

Quoted senior associate.

Not all associates in my office "work substantially over the formal hours expectation." Some don't even meet it. It really varies by firm, practice group, specific partners, career goals, etc.

OP, I wouldn't worry about your hours as an SA. Focus on doing good work.

Before WFH, I hardly ever stayed in the office until 9:00. I regularly left the office at 6:30, ate dinner at home, and then finished my work at home, if needed. Unless there's some hard deadline requiring attention, that should be fine. Most of the attorneys with kids (including partners) did the same thing.