Big law in upstate ny? Forum

[EastCoastICU]

Is there such a thing?

I'm from Buffalo and would like to stay in the general area.

[EastCoastICU]

Still seeking an answer here. Is it possible to get a 160,000 starting salary in upstate ny? I plan to attend cornell.

[mt2165]

Lived in upstate NY a while. There's biglaw but nothing really close to 160k. From what I've seen the market tops out a little over 100k (in Rochester), though admittedly not sure what a place like hodgson Russ pays but I can't imagine close to 160. That said Cornell is a great place for upstate biglaw but loan repayment will be a little trickier on the substantially lower salary, even though your COL is a lot less.

[CFC1524]

Western NY / Upstate firms off the top of my head: Nixon Peabody, Harter Secrest, Woods Oviatt Gilman, Hodgson Russ, Harris Beach, Phillips Lytle, Bond Schoeneck, Hancock & Estabrook, Costello Cooney - there are others too (not a lot, but a few), but these are some of the bigger ones. Most pay between 80,000 and 100,000 as a starting salary. Cornell for cheap is probably your best bet, but keep in mind that the 2L class sizes at these places are usually pretty small (2-3 people, in some cases), so it's possible to miss out even with ties and grades.

[mt2165]

Western NY / Upstate firms off the top of my head: Nixon Peabody, Harter Secrest, Woods Oviatt Gilman, Hodgson Russ, Harris Beach, Phillips Lytle, Bond Schoeneck, Hancock & Estabrook, Costello Cooney - there are others too (not a lot, but a few), but these are some of the bigger ones. Most pay between 80,000 and 100,000 as a starting salary. Cornell for cheap is probably your best bet, but keep in mind that the 2L class sizes at these places are usually pretty small (2-3 people, in some cases), so it's possible to miss out even with ties and grades.

Yeah this is pretty spot on - luckily Cornell has a lot of cache in upstate, so I think it's super imperative to establish deep connections/networks in the area from day one - its possible obv to still get shut out but in my experience upstate law firms love Cornell grads with decent grades and heavy ties.

[tsujimoto74]

Western NY / Upstate firms off the top of my head: Nixon Peabody, Harter Secrest, Woods Oviatt Gilman, Hodgson Russ, Harris Beach, Phillips Lytle, Bond Schoeneck, Hancock & Estabrook, Costello Cooney - there are others too (not a lot, but a few), but these are some of the bigger ones. Most pay between 80,000 and 100,000 as a starting salary. Cornell for cheap is probably your best bet, but keep in mind that the 2L class sizes at these places are usually pretty small (2-3 people, in some cases), so it's possible to miss out even with ties and grades.

Yeah this is pretty spot on - luckily Cornell has a lot of cache in upstate, so I think it's super imperative to establish deep connections/networks in the area from day one - its possible obv to still get shut out but in my experience upstate law firms love Cornell grads with decent grades and heavy ties.

Yeah, I'd imagine upstate/WNY firms love seeing Cornell applications. For full disclosure's sake, I'm a 0L so I really know jack about legal hiring, but I do know the region very well. I assume most Cornell students/grads are gunning for NYC, and upstate firms probably see a lot more applications from Buffalo/Syracuse/Albany than Cornell. Definitely not as many jobs as downstate, but I can't imagine there's a better school to try to land one from than Cornell.