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Hey all. I'm a 2L at Temple Law. Got into law school in order to pursue a corporate career. Always thought biglaw in Philly would be where I ended up. Grades are decent and I have a realistic chance at getting biglaw through OCI in January as long as I don't blow my grades this semester. I recently began being recruited by a Big 4 firm in Philly for an internship in their M&A division. I know the pay doesn't measure with big law, but the type of work seems right up my alley and to have a position locked down so soon in such uncertain times seems like a good thing to me. Some additional info, I'm on scholarship so loan debt is luckily not an issue. I guess my main questions are as follows:

-Any idea on what exactly the pay is in Big 4 in my market compared to biglaw. Most biglaw associate jobs seem to be in the 150 range in my region and my career advisor told me he believes Big 4 is increasing their starting salary to try and compete a little more, but most numbers I see for the firm I'm in contact with range from 70-90.

-It seems the tax work will be a bit more substantive in Big 4 compared to associate jobs at biglaw where its mostly doc review. Is that an oversimplification? Is the billable hours requirement that much more extreme in biglaw?

-Advancement seems like a safer predictor in Big 4, granted the salary numbers will never be as high as biglaw, they're nothing to scoff at. Which path do you think allows for more predictable career progression within the firm?

And the most general question I have is whether I'm crazy to consider the Big 4 offer. The security of it and the type of work appeals to me, but the $$ difference keeps holding me back from getting excited about it. Would love some thoughts from tax people out there who have worked in biglaw and Big 4. Also worth nothing an LLM in Tax is likely in my future and I know Big 4 covers that cost not sure about biglaw.

Thanks everyone!

Big 4 M&A is a great practice area, but the pay is significantly lower than Biglaw. Expect to start at $90,000 with a $5,000 sign on bonus. Expect small annual increases & small annual bonuses. Biggest salary increase usually comes when one switches firms. If assigned a helpful mentor, then learning should progress rapidly.

Important to be aware that electing to work for a Big 4 accounting firm after finishing law school may limit your chances of moving into biglaw in the future.

tuf40382@temple.edu wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 18, 2020 3:11 pm

-It seems the tax work will be a bit more substantive in Big 4 compared to associate jobs at biglaw where its mostly doc review. Is that an oversimplification? Is the billable hours requirement that much more extreme in biglaw?

. . .

And the most general question I have is whether I'm crazy to consider the Big 4 offer. The security of it and the type of work appeals to me, but the $$ difference keeps holding me back from getting excited about it. Would love some thoughts from tax people out there who have worked in biglaw and Big 4. Also worth nothing an LLM in Tax is likely in my future and I know Big 4 covers that cost not sure about biglaw.

Tax work at a large firm isn't really doc review. Not sure where you got that from. Junior tax associates tend to do a lot of research in my experience. Most large firms also pay for Tax LLMs for their tax associates.

If your long term plan is to end up in big law, spending a few years in big 4 M&A and leaving to get an LLM Tax could help you get there.

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