Any lawyers in Seattle here? How difficult would it be to break into big law in the pnw given that i go to uw for law school? No other ties to the area, but want to start a life in Seattle

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I’m a UW grad in big law in Seattle, not from Seattle, and it was definitely tough selling firms on my “connection” to the city — echo what was said above re: it being insular. And everybody just loves the PNW now so you end up competing with grads from the T14 as well. I ended up in big law as a mid level lateral after starting with a small local firm straight out of law school. My advice would be, sure, target big law firms for your 2L summer, but apply broadly and keep your options open. And build strong relationships with your classmates—I had multiple big law offers when I moved and it was mainly because I had people inside those firms willing to go to bat for me.

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It is one of the smaller and more insular biglaw markets out there, but going to UW is a good start.

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Going to UW helps, but getting an entry level associate spot at a big law firm in Seattle is really competitive. You need to have top grades, and even then, you're competing against the top students at SU, as well as locals with top grades who went out of state for law school and are looking to come back. All of these folks are competing for a relatively small pool of associate positions at Perkins Coie, K&L Gates, DWT, and other big law firms with satellite offices and just one or two associate spots available.

A lot of Seattle firms, including some of the above, are intently focused on your ties to the area. Did you grow up in Seattle, why did you come there, what's your plan to stay, etc. You may get a lot of intense grilling in interviews about this since you're not from the PNW, and it may be a deciding factor in whether you get an offer (all other factors being equal).

If you're hoping to stay in Seattle, I recommend really figuring out which firms you want to target, and being willing to settle (or move) if you can't get what you want.

Source: me, a UW grad that left Seattle for biglaw somewhere else because of how competitive it is.

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Feel free to DM me if you want to talk more. I'll add to my previous comment you should weigh what's more important to you: working in Seattle in any legal job, or working in Biglaw. Getting both is tough and you may have to compromise.

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