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Is there a benefit to working in biglaw in DC if your goal is to work in big law for a few years and then transfer to government or policy related PI? I would intuitively assume yes and that this is the reason why some people with top grades from schools gun for DC, but haven't seen it stated anywhere. Also what would be the cause of the benefit? Would it just be due to proximity so there are more opportunities to network or is there something else? Thanks for the help.

Being in DC does not necessarily give you and advantage for BigFed jobs because you will have to compete like everyone else who applies.

zot1 wrote:Being in DC does not necessarily give you and advantage for BigFed jobs because you will have to compete like everyone else who applies.

On the other hand, being in DC is helpful for networking and getting to know people in your practice area at various professional association events, etc. Connections can be key to securing federal government non-Honors lawyer jobs.

Yeah that's true, but you will have to connect with higher ups. That is, if a head counsel is hiring, chances are s/he won't (necessarily) care about what a junior attorney thinks about an applicant. And depending on the agency, you might also be stuck with a hiring board that draws from people of different departments/offices within the agency, so just because one member in the panel knows you, it doesn't mean it'll help you all that much if the other panel members don't think you're qualified.

Also keep in mind there are a lot of firms in DC that have hired from the government and placed people into the government (this may be true in equal measure in NY and elsewhere but I suspect firms that grab gov people tend to keep them in DC). Simpson Thacher's DC office, for example, has a strong FCPA practice that was built literally by the former SEC people who headed up FCPA enforcement. WilmerHale, Hogan, and Gibson Dunn also come to mind as firms that have some influential people either snagged from government or placed out there.

eta: Others are right that it doesn't give you an advantage per se, but if you're at the right firm, being in their DC office might get you work with the kind of people who can help place you where you want to be.