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I’m a 2015 graduate and I’ve been in NYC big law since graduation working as a litigator. I was at my original firm for ~6 years as an associate and left due to a relatively toxic work environment (the first five or so years at the firm were generally fine; the last year or so was pretty bad). When I left I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stay in big law or go to a boutique and I ultimately joined a peer firm as Of Counsel. I’m now 4 months in at the new firm and think I really would like to litigate less mammoth cases with a smaller team. But since I recently lateraled my impression is that I should put in more time in order to avoid making it a short stint and because I would ideally likely to join a boutique as a partner and so would be better off with more job history as Of Counsel. Anyone with similar experience agree/disagree? Thoughts to share? Current plan is to finish 2022, get bonus and then start looking.

you'll be fine if you lateraled now, considering that you were at your original firm for 6 years.

you can also wait until the end of 2022 to start looking, but it's really up to you and how long you want to stay at the newer peer firm.

This is OP. The downsides I see of leaving earlier are no bonus and less value from the Of Counsel title. The bonus is a known issue. Am I wrong to think that 12-16 months as Of Counsel is valuable to have or not?

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 26, 2022 9:42 am

This is OP. The downsides I see of leaving earlier are no bonus and less value from the Of Counsel title. The bonus is a known issue. Am I wrong to think that 12-16 months as Of Counsel is valuable to have or not?

If you're lateraling into a legit boutique, they're either going to make you sit as of counsel/counsel or income partner for a couple of years post-lateral before you get equity, so I don't really know what value "of counsel" has over "associate". You could always negotiate a bonus based on pro-rated hours.

Sackboy wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 26, 2022 10:25 am

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 26, 2022 9:42 am

This is OP. The downsides I see of leaving earlier are no bonus and less value from the Of Counsel title. The bonus is a known issue. Am I wrong to think that 12-16 months as Of Counsel is valuable to have or not?

If you're lateraling into a legit boutique, they're either going to make you sit as of counsel/counsel or income partner for a couple of years post-lateral before you get equity, so I don't really know what value "of counsel" has over "associate". You could always negotiate a bonus based on pro-rated hours.

I don't have a ton of personal experience on the issue but I'm inclined to agree. The "title" isn't likely to give you a boost--it'll be your experience. You either have what it takes to make partner right now or you don't. I also can see no reason why you wouldn't just apply now to see what the market is like and what these boutiques are willing to offer you. If they don't meet your needs (in terms of comp, signing bonuses or title) then you say "thanks but no thanks" and try again in a year or so.

I'd also consider that the lateral market is still pretty strong but may not be in a year or two. So while you're perfectly justified in waiting to get your EOY bonus, you may not be happy about the lateral market that awaits you when that time comes.

I think the biggest issue will be whether you have a book of business you can bring to a boutique, rather than your title. If you have already have business, I don't know that staying will help. If you don't, I would dedicate a good portion of your time at the firm to developing a book, which your new firm should also be supportive of.

There are so many different boutiques that it's hard to really answer your questions.

You are very likely to find one (if you look hard enough) that doesn't care about the quick lateral.

On the bonus point, you MAY find one that, assuming the interview and search process etc. takes you into July or so, will let you hold off until January to join. (This will get more likely as the year goes on.) When I lateraled, the boutique I went to was very comfortable waiting 4-5 months for me to join because I articulated a good reason.

Coming in straight as a partner is probably the hardest piece for you to find, and you should temper your expectations. But at your seniority, it's perfectly reasonable to have those conversations during the interview process about your time table for becoming eligible for partner. Again, partner track time varies very, very widely by firm, but as a 2015 if getting partnership quickly is important, you should be able to find one that's willing to consider you on a <2 year time frame.