Switching office locations Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anon for obvious reasons.

I’m a T14 3L who was recently was offered, and accepted, an entry level position with a V25 firm in a major market (BOS/NYC/DC) which I accepted. Love the firm, but not the location; as a 3L, I assumed I have slim pickings (did not SA there) and said I would like to be at that location (had also expressed interest in my ideal market but didn’t get a bite).

Reality now setting in, I would really need to be in my local market (also BOS/NYC/DC) for family reasons but do not want to lose this offer. Worst case, I figure I can transfer to the ideal location after a year or so, but I want some input about whether I have any leeway to request a move to the ideal location now before I start. I would vastly prefer not having to transfer after a year or so, and the location makes a huge difference to me (but not a deal breaker).

Do I risk losing the offer? Is the answer definitely no, and so I shouldn’t even bother asking? I also considered continuing to seek out other firms but my school’s code of conduct says it is not allowed—not sure if that is actually enforced or could subject me to any kind of disciplinary action, and so I am not sure it’s worth the risk (and whether I’d even find a firm I’d want as much as the current one).

Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous User]

Anon for obvious reasons.

I’m a T14 3L who was recently was offered, and accepted, an entry level position with a V25 firm in a major market (BOS/NYC/DC) which I accepted. Love the firm, but not the location; as a 3L, I assumed I have slim pickings (did not SA there) and said I would like to be at that location (had also expressed interest in my ideal market but didn’t get a bite).

Reality now setting in, I would really need to be in my local market (also BOS/NYC/DC) for family reasons but do not want to lose this offer. Worst case, I figure I can transfer to the ideal location after a year or so, but I want some input about whether I have any leeway to request a move to the ideal location now before I start. I would vastly prefer not having to transfer after a year or so, and the location makes a huge difference to me (but not a deal breaker).

Do I risk losing the offer? Is the answer definitely no, and so I shouldn’t even bother asking? I also considered continuing to seek out other firms but my school’s code of conduct says it is not allowed—not sure if that is actually enforced or could subject me to any kind of disciplinary action, and so I am not sure it’s worth the risk (and whether I’d even find a firm I’d want as much as the current one).

Thanks in advance!

Did you get the sense that you were hired to fill a very particular role/work in a niche practice group specific to one office?

Assuming that you weren't hired to be the tax associate in Boston, or something like that, I would draft a very deferential email to HR (or whomever hired you) saying (1) you're very pleased to be working at this firm, (2) you're excited to start in that city in the fall, but (3) a late breaking (non-specific) family reason has caused you to inquire about transferring. Reassure them that you're committed to your original offer and understand that traveling between BOS/NYC/DC is very easy, but would appreciate the opportunity to work with the firm elsewhere for personal reasons. Sure, there's some risk, but if you show you're committed regardless of their answer I can't imagine them revoking your offer unless you were already on the chopping block (e.g., in the event of a downturn).

I'm not sure about the school rule you cite, and I'm not sure what they could do to enforce it. I doubt they'd withhold your diploma or expel you, but who knows. They probably won't help you with new applications/interviews. I imagine that rule serves two functions: (1) prevent you from taking away opportunities from other 3Ls who are at risk of hurting your T14's employment statistics and (2) maintain the school's reputation. Maybe neither of those are of particular concern to you, but nobody can tell you whether the risks outweigh the rewards.

[Anonymous User]

This is OP—thanks for the reply! I was thinking the same thing, so it’s good to hear your thoughts. At least to my knowledge, I wasn’t hired for a specific niche/hole that needed filling—just general lit work. What makes me feel odd about things is that I did initially attempt to make inroads with my preferred location (but also this current location), and the preferred location never showed interest, and so I am unsure if that office is just full. But I can give that approach a shot; I recently got this over within the last couple of months, and so I might need to wait a bit more to bring this up, but maybe not. I’m a very risk-averse person, and really need this job (may not get any other crack at BigLaw), and so that’s what’s been making me so hesitant about seeing if I can get the offer moved.

Re: student code concerns, I don’t want to say too much to out my school, but it is in the code of conduct policy book which also contains other stuff like academic deadlines, etc, and so it isn’t entirely clear how the rule would be enforced, if at all (but it uses a lot of mandatory language like “shall”/“must”). I just don’t want any kind of “inquiry” or proceeding on my record for CF purposes and reputation concerns. Otherwise I would think the safest approach is to keep searching for preferred location positions and renege on the original offer, but maybe that is still unwise given the fact I really like the firm at which I have been offered and can just ask to have it moved to my preferred city.

[Anonymous User]

Anon for obvious reasons.

I’m a T14 3L who was recently was offered, and accepted, an entry level position with a V25 firm in a major market (BOS/NYC/DC) which I accepted. Love the firm, but not the location; as a 3L, I assumed I have slim pickings (did not SA there) and said I would like to be at that location (had also expressed interest in my ideal market but didn’t get a bite).

Reality now setting in, I would really need to be in my local market (also BOS/NYC/DC) for family reasons but do not want to lose this offer. Worst case, I figure I can transfer to the ideal location after a year or so, but I want some input about whether I have any leeway to request a move to the ideal location now before I start. I would vastly prefer not having to transfer after a year or so, and the location makes a huge difference to me (but not a deal breaker).

Do I risk losing the offer? Is the answer definitely no, and so I shouldn’t even bother asking? I also considered continuing to seek out other firms but my school’s code of conduct says it is not allowed—not sure if that is actually enforced or could subject me to any kind of disciplinary action, and so I am not sure it’s worth the risk (and whether I’d even find a firm I’d want as much as the current one).

Thanks in advance!

I asked for this a few months back at a V10 and it was granted pretty quickly (I actually asked for two transfers, one to a smaller office--which was denied--and one to another major office which was approved). I imagine that unless you're at a Boston-based firm transferring to the Boston office would be more difficult than transferring to the presumably-larger NYC or DC offices.

Edit: Also, as a person who asked for two separate office moves, there's about a 0% chance that asking for the change will kill your offer. The worst they're likely to say is no.

Edit2: oh wait, you didn't SA at the firm? That might be a bit of a sticking point for the transfer--they may want to kick your tires before letting you change. Again, probably not a dealbreaker on your employment, but lessens your chances of success.

[Anonymous User]

OP again—thanks for the input! I didn’t do an SA there, and so my worry has been the lack of prior experience with me over the summer doesn’t put me in a good position to randomly ask for a different location—after all, I did say I wanted the office I’m currently set to be at, and moved forward with my interviews knowing where it’d be. I’m not necessarily scared of being told no, but my worry is just that the offer would be rescinded (though I accepted it) due to my asking. If that’s not something I should worry about, I wouldn’t mind asking, where the worst case is it’s a no and I transfer in the future year or so of practice. In terms of office size, to my knowledge each of the offices are somewhat fungible in terms of size/selectivity, so I hope that won’t be a worry.

Edit: I also don’t want to come across as trying to “backdoor” my way into an office that originally was not interested in my application, by “dishonestly” representing I’d be interested in an office that I was not interested in.

[Anonymous User]

OP again—thanks for the input! I didn’t do an SA there, and so my worry has been the lack of prior experience with me over the summer doesn’t put me in a good position to randomly ask for a different location—after all, I did say I wanted the office I’m currently set to be at, and moved forward with my interviews knowing where it’d be. I’m not necessarily scared of being told no, but my worry is just that the offer would be rescinded (though I accepted it) due to my asking. If that’s not something I should worry about, I wouldn’t mind asking, where the worst case is it’s a no and I transfer in the future year or so of practice. In terms of office size, to my knowledge each of the offices are somewhat fungible in terms of size/selectivity, so I hope that won’t be a worry.

Edit: I also don’t want to come across as trying to “backdoor” my way into an office that originally was not interested in my application, by “dishonestly” representing I’d be interested in an office that I was not interested in.

First responder above. Again, I don't think they'll rescind if you make clear that you are committed to working for the firm, but would just like to inquire about a transfer for a personal reason. You're probably less likely to get the transfer for a host of reasons (often 3L hires are for specific practice/office needs, you haven't been tested, etc.), but I really don't think it's going to hurt to ask.

[woopig2017]

OP again—thanks for the input! I didn’t do an SA there, and so my worry has been the lack of prior experience with me over the summer doesn’t put me in a good position to randomly ask for a different location—after all, I did say I wanted the office I’m currently set to be at, and moved forward with my interviews knowing where it’d be. I’m not necessarily scared of being told no, but my worry is just that the offer would be rescinded (though I accepted it) due to my asking. If that’s not something I should worry about, I wouldn’t mind asking, where the worst case is it’s a no and I transfer in the future year or so of practice. In terms of office size, to my knowledge each of the offices are somewhat fungible in terms of size/selectivity, so I hope that won’t be a worry.

Edit: I also don’t want to come across as trying to “backdoor” my way into an office that originally was not interested in my application, by “dishonestly” representing I’d be interested in an office that I was not interested in.

That you did not do an SA at this firm is a pretty big point. They likely hired you to fill a specific need for bodies at the office that you have an offer to join. I agree with others in the thread that they almost certainly wouldn't rescind your offer for asking about this if you do so very politely, but be prepared to be told no. This is especially true given that you tried to be recruited by office B and weren't approached.

[Anonymous User]

I had 0 issues switching from CHI --> NYC at my v10 post clerkship. That said, I did do my SA there.