Average Day and Culture/WLB In-House at IB Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi all!

Anon because don't want to out myself, but interviewing with a middle-market bank (think Piper, Stifel or Houlihan) for an in-house role and want to be prepared for the interview but also have questions as to the culture.

1. Understand that it would be supporting the M&A team; all I can think of that entailing is NDAs, Engagement Letters and Fairness Opinions. Would I be doing that all day just for a variety of deals or is there more to it? I can't imagine that the bank counsel would ever be involved in the acquisition agreement (unless of course the bank is the client).

2. What are the hours like? The culture? Obviously not naming the bank so can't get a fulsome sense of the culture, but any data points from that tier of bank would be helpful. I would hope maybe a little more relaxed than a BB like Goldman.

Thank you!

[Anonymous User]

1. The role is pretty rote and has little to no upside in terms of promotions. You will mostly be doing engagement letters and NDAs. There isn't much variety. If you do work there, you will meet other colleagues who will be doing the same exact job for 20+ years. It's a typical back-office operations-like job.

2. Hours are 9am-6pm, but requires work to be done after those hours because you are supporting the investment bankers who are always online and will not hesitate to email you at night.

3. These jobs usually open up due to people quitting because there are very few opportunities to be promoted. I think these roles are boring and mostly dead-end.

Good luck.

[Anonymous User]

1. The role is pretty rote and has little to no upside in terms of promotions. You will mostly be doing engagement letters and NDAs. There isn't much variety. If you do work there, you will meet other colleagues who will be doing the same exact job for 20+ years. It's a typical back-office operations-like job.

2. Hours are 9am-6pm, but requires work to be done after those hours because you are supporting the investment bankers who are always online and will not hesitate to email you at night.

3. These jobs usually open up due to people quitting because there are very few opportunities to be promoted. I think these roles are boring and mostly dead-end.

Good luck.

Thank you! Understand that it might be dead-end job there, but do you think it would materially hamper prospects if tried to go elsewhere after a few years? Or would the position carry enough weight along with the prior biglaw experience to still end up in a good spot?

[Anonymous User]

I'm of the belief that you can also use your "I worked in big law, so I must be good" card once (which is when you first leave big law). After you've been in a back-office role at a bank for more than a year, it will be difficult to pivot because your big law skillset will wither away.