Would you leave biglaw for this In House offer? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Have been in biglaw for two years. Have an offer to go in house at a tech company for around 140-150 base, about 30-40 stocks, and a 10% bonus at the end of the year. Current biglaw firm matches Cravath salary. The in house gig is for a specialized area, which I currently practice.

What would you do? Is 2 years in too early? Is this a good offer?

FWIW getting killed at my current firm on hours, but it's a really good group to be in for the area I practice, and obviously, the comp is great and will only go up.

[The Lsat Airbender]

As long as you don't have any big commitments that golden-handcuff you to your current salary (student debt, lease/mortgage-type stuff) then yeah, that sounds like pretty reasonable compensation.

Tech companies can vary wildly in terms of culture/expectations though so do your research there. We probably can't help you too much there without outing you. Example of something to avoid would be a personality-cult startup where you'll be the CEO's personal slave.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Yes to a decent amount of debt unfortunately, and no this is not Amazon or Google but similar. Work life balance is definitely a real thing at this in house gig. So, that’s really the up side to the move.

[Anonymous User]

Same class year as you and I would take this in a hear beat, but unfortunately I'm not doing tech, tech transactions, IP etc.

[Anonymous User]

I went in-house at just 3 years and can tell you no one will care if you are at a biglaw firm 2 years vs. 4 years. Unless you stay for 6+ years, then it will start to be a noticeable difference on the resume. One big positive I have noticed going in-house early is that if you try it and don't like it, going back to biglaw is super easy. I have a number of friends who did it and I still get calls from law firms asking if I am interested in going back into private practice. I would say if you know already you don't want to do the biglaw thing long-term, give it a go. But just my 2 cents.

[Anonymous User]

140-150 base, about 30-40 stocks, and a 10% bonus at the end of the year

I know in-house salaries vary wildly, but is this about market for a SF/SV tech company? Probably a little bit more for those with a few more years under their belt, but in a similar position.

[smokeylarue]

Anything that's paying you $200k after only two years in Biglaw is a great offer. Take it and never look back.