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Myth.
I think it can be slightly better at boutique, depending on the firm, but litigation and wlb is a myth IMO. I jumped from big law to boutique.
Chief
I don’t think there’s any “type” that is safe, but certainly some firms are better than others. Also plenty of places where you bill Cravath hours and you make nowhere close to Cravath scale. Do a lot of diligence before accepting any offer.
Mid law had benefits over boutiques. Boutiques prove no cover and you can become an everlasting punching bag for someone’s horse path. At least with WLB and mid paw there is a middle ground, a reasonable billable hour requirement, and even though you are not going to get an AmLaw 100 salary, you can live in gratitude with a roof over yourself and a pillow to rest your head.
Mostly a myth. Some mid law is better in terms of hours and weekend work, but mid law can be just as bad as big law.
I’ve worked one boutique that was insanely family friendly with a sizable (60-70% of Cravath pay at the time) pay cut and another that might as well be big law. Results vary, but economics demand that you’ll take a pay cut if you want to bill 1800 hours at much lower rates.
Thanks all, figured as much. I’m a 3rd lit associate at an AmLaw 100 firm, in search of better WLB. Don’t mind a pay cut that’s commensurate with the amount of life I’ll get back. Was just wondering if WLB exists elsewhere in commercial lit or if gov’t really is where I should be targeting.
It will almost never be commensurate if you’re coming from cravath scale—I.e., you’re not going to find 75% hour for 75% pay. Much more likely to find 85-90%hours for 50-70% pay.