Featured Survey Results: Would You Do It Again?
(And: Which firms’ associates have no regrets?)
Last week’s ATL / Lateral Link survey asked, “If you knew then what you know today, would you still choose to join your current firm?”
We received 540 responses, and, overall 68% of you said yes. But the gruntlement (i.e., satisfaction) varied quite a bit from market to market:
• Atlanta - 50%
• Boston - 74%
• Bay Area - 79%
• Chicago - 70%
• Dallas - 80%
• Houston - 82%
• Los Angeles - 71%
• New York - 71%
• Philadelphia - 75%
• Washington, DC - 68%
Apparently, “everything is bigger in Texas” includes job satisfaction, and the Bay Area is close behind, followed by Philadelphia. Meanwhile, firms in Boston have managed to produce slightly happier associates than firms in New York, notwithstanding the city’s often lamented bagels and challenging pizza scene — a challenge Chicago offices, hampered by quiche deep dish pizza, have been unable to surmount. Washington, DC lags a bit behind, and Atlanta clearly needs a hug.
Associates at a few firms were particularly likely to say they’d make the same choice today. Find out which firms have especially happy campers, after the jump.
The following firms scored a 100% “yes” response:
• Latham & Watkins - “By far the friendliest and smartest large firm.”
• WilmerHale - “Good money, great benefits, pretty good work.”
• Weil - “Still think it’s the best gig in bigfirm NYC - I almost always have fun at work”
• McDermott, Will & Emery - “[T]hey are conservative in their hiring, thus when it comes to the time of recession, there is less likelihood of layoff/fake performance firing.”
Davis Polk and Skadden were in the 85% to 90% range, with comments including “Love the people, work” and “Prestige, impressive clients, and wonderful people”, respectively.
Also getting at least an 80% yea vote were Kirkland & Ellis, praised for “Money, Opportunities & Experiences, and Prestige”, and Ropes & Gray, described as “Great experience for a junior lawyer, caring supportive environment, great mentors, sane colleagues.”
For those of you who answered “no”, last week’s ATL / Lateral Link survey on where else you would go is still open.
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These individual firm sample sizes are enlightening.
Atlanta's just pissed because they got run over by a tornado
Is it possible to see more of the response? like sample size, where people wanted to go...more firm specific stuff
Can we get info on what firms scored the worst?
This survey was taken before the tornado you fool.
"12:24" - This survey was taken before the tornado you fool.
Was the survey taken before or after the tornado(e) ?
Why isn't this post tagged under Weil too?
The only reason WH got 100% satisfaction is because those of us who are not satisfied use our time to find new jobs rather than fill out silly surveys.
Can we see the firms people are unhappy at?
That seems to be more important.
Atlanta is the worst BIGLAW market available, end of story. A combination of painful compression, terrible bonuses, ridiculous real estate, and horrible schools (i.e., no choice but to pay for private school) make Atlanta not as advertised. I'm willing to bet that, despite the increased COL, larger markets generate more take-home-pay for BIGLAW associates.
A 5th year in NYC makes $230k + $50k bonus. A 5th year in Atlanta makes $170 + $10k bonus (maybe).
Do yourself a favor, take the extra $100k per year and take a job in NYC (if you can, that is).
I'm not sure they asked the right question. The more interesting question would be, "Would you go to law school again (and incur all the debt you incurred to do so) if you knew what working in a large firm was really like?" As written, I know that I'd say that I'd choose my current firm if I had it to do over again. To paraphrase Beavis, I truly believe that my firm sucks less than other firms.
Oh please, the cost of living anywhere else outside of NYC (except maybe SF) is better and Biglaw money goes much further. hate to say it but 200k is not that much money in Manhattan. You can live but not living large like you would in any other city except SF.
12:09
But if you make partner at Atlanta's 2 good law firms you get high 1m with a cost of living half of what you'd find anywhere else that pays that much (except TX)
Related question--would you go back and do HYS/Top 5 with the debt, or Top 20 with no debt? (I chose the latter... I think that was the right decision).
All things considered, no regrets. I can think of a lot worse ways to make $250k. And I'll either end up making triple or quad that (if I stay and become a partner), or "settle" for $150-200k for the long haul, with much more free time and freedom (this latter option being made much more possible for my having taken the biglaw job in the first place).
We could be teachers, nurses, cops, firemen, soldiers, etc. Most work almost as much as us, for a fraction the pay, and some face mortal danger everyday. Get a grip kiddies.
The housing bubble bursting makes Atlanta even less attractive. Prices got pretty high here, but never like DC or the west coast, so housing deflation will bring Atlanta prices closer to those in larger cities. When you scale down the COL differences Atlanta's pay looks even worse than it already is. If you have plans to do Biglaw for 5 years or more you are insane if you choose Atlanta.
12:09 -- not sure where you work, but a 5th year at K&S Atlanta this year will make $172K + bonus in the range of $22.5-40K. Not bad scratch for Atlanta.
Why is Miami not included on this list? I would think it is at least as big of a legal market as Dallas or Atlanta. Where would Miami rank on this list if it was on there?
Why no San Diego on this poll?
Why no Kamchatka on this list?
Miami is a third-world hell hole. The only people who practice in Miami either (a) grew up there, (b) are latin american and enjoy English being the second language, or (c) had no where else to go.
While I'm no fan of deep-dish pizza, anyone who would mix it up with quiche either hasn't eaten it, or is a little bit retarded. Seriously, they're nothing alike.
Kamchatka associates are too busy defending bear attack and volcano personal injury lawsuits to fill out surveys. Oh, and they don't have internet yet...
Deep dish - it's just a big mess of cheese all on top of insanely thick and greasy bread. Overrated.
So true about the Boston pizza scene. Does anyone in that town make a decent pizza?
America's pizza capital is NYC, with a constellation of excellence extending outward throughout NJ.
Take away the eggs and switch the dough for the crust and a quiche is what you're calling a deep-dish pizza. Not a very good one, mind you, but since it's a deep-dish pizza, that was already a given.
Take away the bread, toppings and crust, and switch what remains with sugar, ice, and milk, then ice cream is what you're calling deep dish pizza. And a pretty damn good one!
you need to tag Weil to this blog
mmmm....pizza......
It's a fool's errand to compare "Chicago deep dish pizza" to "NY pizza." They are apples and oranges...and both apples and oranges can be quite good (or bad).
I've lived in both cities and enjoy both styles equally. The only problem is that it's impossible to get good Chi pizza in NY (or anywhere outside Chi) and difficult to get something approximating NY pizza in Chi.
I am 3L and I have been pondering a Q that perhaps experienced current associates might have some helpful insights on. There is a corporate practice that I feel 100% sure that I don't want to do. There is also a practice I am ABSOLUTELY excited about right now and think it highly likely I will want to end up working in. My thoughts is that at least in regards to what I don't want to do, it's unlikely I will change my mind ever. However, I think there is a decent chance I might change my mind about what I do actually want to do--particularly because people say it has the most horrible lifestyle.
Is this kind of thought completely off the mark? Or do people find that that they now love what they hated and hate what they once loved?
ATL- Tag Weil here!
ATL- Tag Weil here!