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Chief
Depends what you want out of your career.
I could never work in BigLaw. I started in MediumLaw and then moved to a boutique a couple of years ago. The lifestyle/pay combo is about as good as you could get. So if you're asking me, that's absolutely a move I'd make, but lots of people are either focused on prestige or want/need BigLaw money.
Chief
I have a feeling you replied before I edited but...in the short/medium term, you will make less money in a boutique (it's extremely hard to make equity partner in BigLaw so eventually you'd plateau if you didn't make equity partner). In boutique the lifestyle can be much better, but the pay will also be less. But theoretically you could some day end up as a partner at a boutique. Anyways, it's not clear cut because none of us know what the future holds, but from what I've seen from all of my BigLaw friends, the lifestyle is pretty miserable.
From my experience and view point at a very big law firm, guaranteed long term salary is better and less erratic at big law. Benefits are better. As you progress in a big law firm your salary goes up a lot over time. You might make partner quicker at a smaller firm, but you will likely make a lot less as a partner at a smaller firm than you would as a senior associate or counsel at a big firm. I’m in a very big city and senior associates at big law firms here can make over 400k with bonus. Smaller to medium firms usually can’t touch that ever. It’s a question of how much do you want to make, what type of life style you want long term, and what type of work do you want to do. Here’s the thing: you can always go to a smaller firm but can’t necessarily always come back to a bigger firm, so make the leap carefully.
Chief
Depends on your market, practice and aspirations. I started at a 100 year old highly respected regional firm. I left 18 months after making partner, moving to a branch office of a V25 international firm. I moved for a lot of reasons, but chief among them were my belief that respected local firms were getting squeezed at both ends of the market and were headed the way of the dinosaur, and my conviction that as a young partner I needed the cache of an international firm to attract the bet the company cases I wanted to handle. It took 15 years (after I left) but my first firm is now a nondescript and undistinguished branch office of a McLaw firm. Fine for some folks, but definitely not doing the work I want to do or attracting the talent I want to work with. Biglaw has been good to me for almost 22 years, at two major firms. I like the work, love working with a team in which everyone is world class, benefit from the firm’s reputation and resources in attracting and doing work, and eagerly use the firm’s enormous resources to do the impact pro bono work that feeds my soul. The money is fine but not a primary motivator.
What do you value most in your career and where do you want to be in 20 years?
Chief
I’d double check with the associates at the smaller firm. I’m at a small medium firm and work big law hours
If you can stomach the big firm, why not work there longer? You will get better training, generally and access to more sophisticated work and clients. A five year stint is much more impressive than 18 months. If you worked there five years, the big firm definitely liked you..18 months...who knows?
Chief
Unless a place a truly miserable or you want to change practices, I’m always an advocate of spending at least as much time as you spent in law school
I'm at a small firm. It probably depends on the practice area, but mine is a pretty niche area that always seems to be in demand. We had an associate who was with us for a year, started with no experience in the practice area, left with very little experience in it (like it wasn't her practice group but she was on one or two matters). And she got poached by a large firm for that specialty. So that likely changes my perspective on this. But I'll probably stay here for a long while. It also depends on your year, whether you have a book of business, etc. But if you're just starting out, it could be a good career move.
Go to the local but strong firm, especially if you’re in litigation. The work/life balance is better, the work you do is more rewarding and autonomous, and the only good thing about big law-the salary- is better at the new firm. If you want to find another job in a few years, your employees will understand why you left big law after 1.5 years. I’ve seen associates go from big law to regional/local after 3-4 years, and my experience is that they lack any real lawyering skills and are intimidated to do anything on their own. Get out while you can, especially if the pay is good.
Sure. They’ve, for the most part, never participated in actual litigation. I’m sure their research and memo writing skills are fine (though I’ve been proven wrong). But I’ve sat in on depositions where they don’t know what they’re doing, don’t understand the importance of certain lit deadlines, don’t understand expert limitations, how to manage a caseload, etc. One 4th year big law associate actually transferred to our PI practice and can’t do anything. I’ve dealt with other biglaw firms in settlement and the terms in the release don’t match their expectation of us and tell me “well that’s what I meant by that.” Almost across the board unimpressed. I have been impressed with a few big law firms, but I’m not sure if it’s the individuals or just the amount of people they put on one case.