4 Years in Biglaw Forum

[Veil of Ignorance]

I'm about to enter law school at a YHS, and looking at my projected debt and the Cravath-scale salary+bonus, I would ideally want to stay in biglaw for about 3-4 full years before moving to something else, like a rural ADA. I'm sure that the life of a corporate attorney isn't for me (I'm a country boy), but I also know the importance of money and the rarity of a biglaw salary. Could an average T6 graduate with no particular affinity for firm work essentially just keep their head down and work for 4 years? Or is the herd thinned early than that to the best-performing associates? Thanks for the info.

[cavalier1138]

Depends on the firm.

But if you want to be an ADA, why not just go for that and take advantage of Yale's stellar LRAP? If a large chunk of your biglaw salary would be going to paying off your debt in four years, it seems like you're not saving enough money to make it worthwhile. And the type of work you'd be doing in a big firm is so radically different from the kind of work an ADA will do (especially one in a rural area) that it sounds like you'd just be miserable trying to tough it out for four years.

[QContinuum]

Depends on the firm.

But if you want to be an ADA, why not just go for that and take advantage of Yale's stellar LRAP? If a large chunk of your biglaw salary would be going to paying off your debt in four years, it seems like you're not saving enough money to make it worthwhile. And the type of work you'd be doing in a big firm is so radically different from the kind of work an ADA will do (especially one in a rural area) that it sounds like you'd just be miserable trying to tough it out for four years.

Granted, we don't know OP will be attending Yale. Harvard's LIPP is reputed to be one of the stingier LRAPs, and I have no clue about Stanford's LRAP. But still, even LIPP will cover being an ADA, no question about it, and I agree that someone who's dead set on doing a minimal BigLaw stint to pay off their debt before migrating to being a rural ADA really ought to just use the LRAP and avoid the BigLaw detour altogether.

[Veil of Ignorance]

Depends on the firm.

But if you want to be an ADA, why not just go for that and take advantage of Yale's stellar LRAP? If a large chunk of your biglaw salary would be going to paying off your debt in four years, it seems like you're not saving enough money to make it worthwhile. And the type of work you'd be doing in a big firm is so radically different from the kind of work an ADA will do (especially one in a rural area) that it sounds like you'd just be miserable trying to tough it out for four years.

Granted, we don't know OP will be attending Yale. Harvard's LIPP is reputed to be one of the stingier LRAPs, and I have no clue about Stanford's LRAP. But still, even LIPP will cover being an ADA, no question about it, and I agree that someone who's dead set on doing a minimal BigLaw stint to pay off their debt before migrating to being a rural ADA really ought to just use the LRAP and avoid the BigLaw detour altogether.

I've got a kind of scheme where I pay off my loan in 2.5 years (I'll be getting pretty good financial aid) and then save up enough for a house, or at least a 50% down payment or something. In other words, it's about the money. I'm just hoping/wondering if I can dispassionately do 4 years in corporate law then transition into an ADA office. It seems from your responses that this might not work out...

[Npret]

If you want to be an ADA, I would think you need to forget corporate and go for litigation. You might also take advantage of whatever clinics are available at your school to get some connections and experience in the ADA world. Make those connections while in school.

Getting litigation experience of any kind in school won’t hurt you in getting a biglaw litigation job from HYS but it should help you when you want to leave.

There is zero reason to practice corporate.

As for making it four years, that’s an individual call and hard to predict. If money motivates you enough, I’m sure you can do it. If money loses its appeal or you can’t stand your life in the city, then it’s going to be very difficult.

[nealric]

Depends on the firm.

But if you want to be an ADA, why not just go for that and take advantage of Yale's stellar LRAP? If a large chunk of your biglaw salary would be going to paying off your debt in four years, it seems like you're not saving enough money to make it worthwhile. And the type of work you'd be doing in a big firm is so radically different from the kind of work an ADA will do (especially one in a rural area) that it sounds like you'd just be miserable trying to tough it out for four years.

Granted, we don't know OP will be attending Yale. Harvard's LIPP is reputed to be one of the stingier LRAPs, and I have no clue about Stanford's LRAP. But still, even LIPP will cover being an ADA, no question about it, and I agree that someone who's dead set on doing a minimal BigLaw stint to pay off their debt before migrating to being a rural ADA really ought to just use the LRAP and avoid the BigLaw detour altogether.

I've got a kind of scheme where I pay off my loan in 2.5 years (I'll be getting pretty good financial aid) and then save up enough for a house, or at least a 50% down payment or something. In other words, it's about the money. I'm just hoping/wondering if I can dispassionately do 4 years in corporate law then transition into an ADA office. It seems from your responses that this might not work out...

Despite what is often said around these forums, my experience is that most folks leave biglaw voluntarily. Even those who are asked to leave can often find anther firm to take them on if that's what the really want. Instead, those who leave usually get burned out, get bored, or just get a better offer somewhere else. If what you really want is to stay for four years, you probably can (even if it means lateraling). One exception might be an early layoff during a financial crisis or deep recession (the folks who got "Lathamed" in 2009 were mostly SOL for future biglaw). That said, people can overestimate their capacity to put up with biglaw. 4 years might feel longer than you think.

As for getting an ADA gig, you want to be in litigation if that's your jam. Clerking would be helpful too.