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What is the best biglaw gig and why

Easy, T&E at a market paying firm.

Pro bono counsel seems like a great job.

Anonymous User wrote:What is the best biglaw gig and why

70 year old partner

TUwave wrote:Easy, T&E at a market paying firm.

Second this, although I would expand this to T&E in secondary markets at biglaw firms as well - the T&E folks at my old job had fantastic QOL.

I like that pro bono is a way to really get experience like talked about in this other thread. Pro bono work can make us better attorneys, especially by connecting with people that may not have the chance to have an attorney fight for them.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... #p10405114

NottaMod wrote:I like that pro bono is a way to really get experience like talked about in this other thread. Pro bono work can make us better attorneys, especially by connecting with people that may not have the chance to have an attorney fight for them.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... #p10405114

Pro bono is great if you are a litigator who wants trial experience. In the transactional context, it's not useful.

dabigchina wrote:

NottaMod wrote:I like that pro bono is a way to really get experience like talked about in this other thread. Pro bono work can make us better attorneys, especially by connecting with people that may not have the chance to have an attorney fight for them.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... #p10405114

Pro bono is great if you are a litigator who wants trial experience. In the transactional context, it's not useful.

I disagree. You can help build corporate governance structure for non-profits, draft bylaws, or do a variety of other things for businesses that otherwise wouldn't have access to counsel.

LSATWiz.com wrote:

dabigchina wrote:

NottaMod wrote:I like that pro bono is a way to really get experience like talked about in this other thread. Pro bono work can make us better attorneys, especially by connecting with people that may not have the chance to have an attorney fight for them.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... #p10405114

Pro bono is great if you are a litigator who wants trial experience. In the transactional context, it's not useful.

I disagree. You can help build corporate governance structure for non-profits, draft bylaws, or do a variety of other things for businesses that otherwise wouldn't have access to counsel.

Ok but we literally do that every single day for paying clients.

Wouldn’t pro bono in those areas get you experience in those things at a level above your class year? (Honest question, I have no idea.)

nixy wrote:Wouldn’t pro bono in those areas get you experience in those things at a level above your class year? (Honest question, I have no idea.)

Not really, but I practice in silicon valley, where first years are expected to more or less handle simple incorporations on their own, so things might be different in New York.

Plus, it's not like pro bono Corp governance is the most complicated thing in the world. Every incorporation I have worked on has consisted of updating the names in the documents from the last incorporation someone else did.

dabigchina wrote:

nixy wrote:Wouldn’t pro bono in those areas get you experience in those things at a level above your class year? (Honest question, I have no idea.)

Not really, but I practice in silicon valley, where first years are expected to more or less handle simple incorporations on their own, so things might be different in New York.

Plus, it's not like pro bono Corp governance is the most complicated thing in the world. Every incorporation I have worked on has consisted of updating the names in the documents from the last incorporation someone else did.

Sounds an awful lot like US governance.

dabigchina wrote:

nixy wrote:Wouldn’t pro bono in those areas get you experience in those things at a level above your class year? (Honest question, I have no idea.)

Not really, but I practice in silicon valley, where first years are expected to more or less handle simple incorporations on their own, so things might be different in New York.

Plus, it's not like pro bono Corp governance is the most complicated thing in the world. Every incorporation I have worked on has consisted of updating the names in the documents from the last incorporation someone else did.

While this is accurate, there's so much wrong with it at the same time.
Unfortunately, at startup, nobody wants to spend money on lawyers to do it right (which is fair, considering how many ventures fail). But realistically, different founders have different interests, and the documents should reflect that. It's like the question of how much equity each partner should have. There's no right answer, but the wrong answer is 50/50.

TUwave wrote:Easy, T&E at a market paying firm.

How competitive is it to get a spot as an associate in this practice area? Do the exit options compare to transactional?

FND wrote:

dabigchina wrote:

nixy wrote:Wouldn’t pro bono in those areas get you experience in those things at a level above your class year? (Honest question, I have no idea.)

Not really, but I practice in silicon valley, where first years are expected to more or less handle simple incorporations on their own, so things might be different in New York.

Plus, it's not like pro bono Corp governance is the most complicated thing in the world. Every incorporation I have worked on has consisted of updating the names in the documents from the last incorporation someone else did.

While this is accurate, there's so much wrong with it at the same time.
Unfortunately, at startup, nobody wants to spend money on lawyers to do it right (which is fair, considering how many ventures fail). But realistically, different founders have different interests, and the documents should reflect that. It's like the question of how much equity each partner should have. There's no right answer, but the wrong answer is 50/50.

OK, but i've never heard of the founders of a pro bono non profit client having divergent interests (at least not at the formation stage). people sit on the board of these things to inflate their egos and work on their pet projects. there's no real money on the line.

If you are talking about my comment re: first years handling incorporation on their own - yes, that is the expectation.

The answer to OP’s question won’t be the same for everybody. For example, being a mid or senior biglaw litigation associate on the partnership track who commands the respect of the group and therefore has the ability to turndown work while also running cases, doing trials, getting a ton of client interaction is a pretty sweet gig...but only if that associate really likes to litigate. If the associate is an introvert and/or nonconfrontational, I could see this being less than ideal.

objctnyrhnr wrote:The answer to OP’s question won’t be the same for everybody. For example, being a mid or senior biglaw litigation associate on the partnership track who commands the respect of the group and therefore has the ability to turndown work while also running cases, doing trials, getting a ton of client interaction is a pretty sweet gig...but only if that associate really likes to litigate. If the associate is an introvert and/or nonconfrontational, I could see this being less than ideal.

Yeah, my sister once dated a solo lawyer (who wasn't particularly good). The guy loved litigating and going to court, so he was happy being a shitlaw solo.

Personally, I don't ever need to see the inside of a court room. But I love the rush of closing a deal.

TUwave wrote:Easy, T&E at a market paying firm.

Disagree. T&E can get drawn into obnoxious family drama that can create stupid fire drills. It's a loss leader for any market paying firm at this point, which means that making equity partner will be nearly impossible. You are always going to be worried that the firm will jettison the entire department (as some firms have).

The best jobs in biglaw will depend on what you want and at what level. The cushiest are the very senior partners who do very little work but hold key relationships with important clients. But most of those partners are 60+, and I'd personally rather just be retired at that point. The highest paid are the workaholic rainmakers, but I don't have the personality for that, and I'd like to see my family on occasion (the senior partners who do little work generally used to fall into this category). The best associate jobs are ones where you work for partners who care about your development and give you space in your personal life. That's a very case-by-case situation and not practice area specific (although finding this situation is more likely in some practices/firms than others).