Advice on offers Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi all,

I currently am a junior at a regional firm that I really enjoy working at (good WLB, but lower pay, great partnership prospects etc.). I got an offer from a BL firm that pays market for my market (about a 50% salary increase from where I'm at currently). I'd seriously consider staying if my firm raised my salary about 20% or so. Any ideas on how to discuss this?
What if my firm says no to an increase after I tell them about the offer, but I decide to stay at my firm anyways (i.e. will this look really bad?).
Any thoughts or insight would be appreciated!

[Anonymous User]

Try to negotiate with your current firm. The worst that could happen is they say no. If they say no and you continue to stay at the smaller regional firm, you won't look bad and they won't think less of you. This type of thing happens all the time and they should be used to it.

[CanadianWolf]

Much depends upon facts & circumstances not revealed in this thread. Not all partners react the same to these situations.

Consider negotiating with your firm for a higher salary without revealing the biglaw offer unless you are prepared to leave.

While these situations occur frequently, I do not think that it is fair to write that "the worst that can happen is [that] they say no".

[Anonymous User]

Much depends upon facts & circumstances not revealed in this thread. Not all partners react the same to these situations.

Consider negotiating with your firm for a higher salary without revealing the biglaw offer unless you are prepared to leave.

While these situations occur frequently, I do not think that it is fair to write that "the worst that can happen is [that] they say no".

This is how I approached negotiations. I ultimately lateraled from my regional firm to biglaw.

[Anonymous User]

I can't find the source, but I read a study that a vast majority of people who wield a competitive offer against their current employer end up leaving because they either realize they wish they'd left, or the employer punishes them for threatening to leave. I'd agree- ask for a raise without mentioning the competitive offer, and if they decline, leave. But in this market, I'm leaning toward telling you to leave without even asking.

[papermateflair]

If you are only lateralling because of the pay difference, then it may be worth attempting to negotiate, but if there are other reasons you are thinking about leaving, then I wouldn't negotiate. I don't know the people you work with, but the people I have worked with would have taken it personally if I said I had an offer from another firm, and even if they came up with more money and I stayed, they would probably never really forgive that I interviewed somewhere else, you know? When I lateralled they asked me how much it would take to get me to stay, and I just told them how much I was being paid at the new but was very firm that it wasn't a negotiation, and that I was leaving anyway even if they matched the compensation, because I didn't want to jerk people around. In the end, they appreciated that I wasn't playing games with them.