Which practice group has the better exit opportunities in terms of compensation? Forum

[jbob1628]

I am torn between two offers currently - one for a Technology Transactions group in NYC and one for a general corporate (M&A) role. I have a large amount of student loans and I am scared I will not be able to handle Big Law for a while. If so, of the two groups which ones would land me in the best exit opportunity in terms of compensation? Both are at a V10.

[nealric]

I am torn between two offers currently - one for a Technology Transactions group in NYC and one for a general corporate (M&A) role. I have a large amount of student loans and I am scared I will not be able to handle Big Law for a while. If so, of the two groups which ones would land me in the best exit opportunity in terms of compensation? Both are at a V10.

I'm not sure there is a clear answer. General corporate M&A casts a wider net, it's helpful to have some sort of focus (deal types and/or industries) to sell yourself for an exit. Something like tech transactions gives you that focus, but may make it harder to sell yourself outside of that world. Either can have decent in-house options and I don't think there's an obvious comp winner.

I'd focus more on other aspects of the firms (including those that might impact qualify of life).

[hangtime813]

In my personal opinion, I think M&A will give you more options with likely higher in house comp. I've seen M&A exits to general corporate counsel roles that include governance matters, SEC, m&a, etc. while Tech Trans exits to product counsel, commercial counsel, and the like. I've also seen GCs with M&A experience, but less so with tech trans.

Then again, biglaw m&a is pretty brutal so you may last longer in tech trans

[existentialcrisis]

In my personal opinion, I think M&A will give you more options with likely higher in house comp. I've seen M&A exits to general corporate counsel roles that include governance matters, SEC, m&a, etc. while Tech Trans exits to product counsel, commercial counsel, and the like. I've also seen GCs with M&A experience, but less so with tech trans.

Then again, biglaw m&a is pretty brutal so you may last longer in tech trans

I think this pretty much sums up my thoughts as well.