Hallelujah...but, where is my bonus memo?

Third

everything is bigger in texas to make up for smaller... nevermind

I'd accept a negative bonus if it meant not living in TTTexas.

This should be an interesting comment thread.

Let me just be the first to say that you could offer to double my salary and triple my bonus, and I still wouldn't even consider moving to Texas. Sorry guys, it's about self-respect.

Moving to Texas means forsaking the opportunity to see harry potter naked. This I would never do.

666

Why make double the money, bill less hours, and have lower COL, when I can have "prestige" and live in a million dollar condo the size of a broom closet?

7: technically you could always fly to NY for the weekend with your doubled Salary and triple bonus. . .but why would you live in TX or NY when you could live in DC? Better culture, better food, best pay, better value housing-wise and you're not in NY or TX!

Moving to Texas means forsaking the opportunity to see harry potter naked. This I would never do.

Moving to TX seems like a no-brainer...

is the bonus worth having to live there?

boni are bigger? fantastic. does that even begin to make up for the fact that salaries are TTTiny? um, no.

good try, though.

When is the next chance to sit for the Texas bar?

I would rather live in Bangalesh than in Texas. No joke.

Anyone suggesting people live in DC for the culture should be hit in the face with a rusty hatchet. Repeatedly. Then kept alive on a machine just so they could be hit int he face with a rusty hatchet again.

I am in Houston and I would bet that even my govt paycheck goes further here than a Biglaw paycheck in NY. And I also don't have to really worry about losing my job because of the economy or working 80 hours a week to keep it. Anything over 40 hours is comp time. Do you know what comp time is? It is cold outside today though, only 65 for a high. You could put an exponent of 10 on my paycheck and I wouldn't move to NY

New York officially sucks ... again.

Bonuses are also higher in LA than NYC, and the salaries don't suck here. Also, Texas is a shitty place to live. hth

The problem seems to be that associates mistakenly believe they are rock stars and live outside their means. Those who can't live frugally in NYC have only themselves to blame. I probably spend barely more than an associate in Texas but, unlike them, I don't have to live in a culturally vacant conservative shithole.

Future isn't so bright with the price of Oil is in the crapper.

99% of people who criticize Texas have never been to Dallas. I lived in NYC for 3 yrs, and Dallas is awesome, even to my standards. Very classy town -- lots of good restaurants, shopping, wealthy people, arts, decent weather, good schools, good sports, low taxes, etc.

Dallas lawyers make a great living and can buy a 3000 sqft house with a media room and wine cellar and a yard/pool for 500k. Good life. AND they can visit NYC 2x per year and enjoy it when they want and stay at the Waldork, while avoiding the struff that makes NY suck to live there (taxes, crime, etc). NYlaw is for SUCKERS.

Everything is suppossed to be bigger in Texas, which is why they've been trying to convince me to relocate my massive wang there since I was 5.

I can't understand yooouuu, go back to your country. White Power.

I am so fucking sick and tired of the whining that goes on in ATL. We earn over 150K and we still don't have money? Dbags, learn to live frugally. I have saved close to 40K after 11 months of working after student loan payments. 150K is a LOT, if you spend it wisely.

Guest 22 FTW.

Those bonuses are premised on oil at 100+ for most of the year. A full year of oil below 45 = local economy in trouble. Houston/Dallas etc tend to lag NYC, Cal by about 6 months to a year but they undergo the same boom and bust cycle.

Remember back in September-October 2001, when NYC economy was in the toilet, and Houston was riding high due to "break the mold" companies like Enron & Dynegy?....yeah....

THANK YOU, 25. Well said. Now let's sit back and watch these bunch of pussys talk about how they're entitled to "market" this and "market" that.

Let's talk about the Chinese people, with their silly ching chang chong talk.

Philly is still in the playoffs. Philly therefore pwns Texas, NY, and DC!

Texas + NY + DC = TTT

I am so tired of the fact that the mere mention of Texas spawns this sort of stupid debate. Obviously, people love it here and people don't think they could survive living here. Fine. It works for me living in Texas; I still make close to $200K a year as a junior associate, will have a great bonus, and the climate I like. To each his/her own.

You can't pay me enough money to get me to move to Texas.

I am so tired of the comments from NYC haters. Every time there's a post about Texas, it's the same junk. NYC attorneys clearly have lots of time to sit around since most of their clients have disappeared. Go pick up something useful -like knitting.

I am so tired of the comments from NYC haters. Every time there's a post about Texas, it's the same junk. NYC attorneys clearly have lots of time to sit around since most of their clients have disappeared. Go pick up something useful -like knitting.

I am so tired of the comments from NYC haters. Every time there's a post about Texas, it's the same junk. NYC attorneys clearly have lots of time to sit around since most of their clients have disappeared. Go pick up something useful -like knitting.

22- Yeah I was thinking that too: I have heard that Texas resisted the slide for a while largely because of high oil prices. Will see how that hold up.

That said, was in Austin 2 weeks ago and had a godo time. Having to drive everyplace sucks since we were drinking a lot, but not a bad town.

-NYC BigLaw

I second 25 - many of the commenters on this forum are out of whack with reality....

People, people... Don't let the liberal meeedia, tell yooouu how to think and feel... If you've got hate in your heart for Texas let it out. Just because you hate Texas, it doesn't mean there's something wrong with you. It means there's something wrong with Texas -- it's full of homosexuals.

White power!

or learning how to hit the "submit" button just once.

The Texas-NYC rivalry is one of the most annoying things about ATL.

i'm the first to comment on Mystal's food-related reference to BBQ? come on people.

I have lived in NYC and DC and now live in Texas. My life here is so much more pleasant; it really is remarkable. In addition, when you figure in cost of living, the deal here is positively outstanding. Most of the vitriol towards Texans is directed at a New Yorkers conception of a Southern hick town. Dallas, Houston, and Austin, of course, don't fit this conception...

I have lived in NYC and DC and now live in Texas. My life here is so much more pleasant; it really is remarkable. In addition, when you figure in cost of living, the deal here is positively outstanding. Most of the vitriol towards Texans is directed at a New Yorkers conception of a Southern hick town. Dallas, Houston, and Austin, of course, don't fit this conception...

Lived in Houston, lived in Dallas, lived in California, and lived in NY. California was amazing, New York really was the center of the universe. In Dallas and Houston I most ly heard about how great it was to live there and how everyone there was just as good as those folks on the coasts. They weren't as good.

Amen, 23.

Texas is not doing as well as people let on. My firm's (one of the "Big 3') corporate department is dead. Seniors are not pushing down any work, and partners are doing the work that 3rd years normally do. There are first years who have been sitting around becoming pro bono specialists since September. Several attorneys have been fired in the last two months.

23 - if you think NYC has more crime than Dallas on a per capita basis you must live somewhere that is neither of those places.

I guess if you go to MoMA and Broadway several times a week, then yes, NYC is better. But if you're the average associate, then who gives a shit.

44 - these firings have been kept pretty well under wraps... care to make an official announcement?

4th year, biglaw Texas, received $75,000 bonus!

Hee haw!!!

Chicago baby. Culture, food, low COL, good (non-oil based) legal work at top global firms. Yes, it's cold in the winter, though not much more than NYC, and it's not 110 degrees with 90% humidity in July like TX. I lived in Houston and having pollution stick to your skin is nauseating. Anyone who lives in TX "for the weather" and spends the summer there has a high tolerance for hell.

This is really not that surprising since:

1. Most Texas-based firms pay bonuses based on hours.

2. Texas-based firms are not as corporate-intensive as other NY firms (i.e. they get significant portion of their revenue from other practice areas).

3. A large portion of the corporate work that is done by Texas firms is securities-related, which tends to be more steady and recession-proof.

NYC is an exciting, culturally-rich place to live. However, it's also expensive, stressful, and has weather that would make me want to run right back to the Hill Country.

Apparently most of these Texas-haters have never left Manhattan. Sure, there're a lot of hicks in Texas, but are you seriously saying there aren't any trashy people outside in New York state?

Wow, it's gorgeous here today. Almost 70 degrees.

lol at the commenter citing "crime" as a reason not to live in NY.

that's about as legitimate a fear for the average NY lawyer as being massacred by Mexican soldiers is for Texans.

remember the Alamo!

To correct the typo before the vipers fall on me:

NYC is an exciting, culturally-rich place to live. However, it's also expensive, stressful, and has weather that would make me want to run right back to the Hill Country.

Apparently most of these Texas-haters have never left Manhattan. Sure, there're a lot of hicks in Texas, but are you seriously saying there aren't any trashy people in New York state?

Wow, it's gorgeous here today. Almost 70 degrees.

Chicago baby. Culture, food, low COL, good (non-oil based) legal work at top global firms. Yes, it's cold in the winter, though not much more than NYC, and it's not 110 degrees with 90% humidity in July like TX. I lived in Houston and having pollution stick to your skin is nauseating. Anyone who lives in TX "for the weather" and spends the summer there has a high tolerance for hell.

44 - More plz.

44 - More plz.

The only annoying thing I found summering in Texas was how much people talked about houses, as if affording a house is all that matters in life. Is life really that much better with extra rooms you rarely use? Other than that, thought the people in Texas were great, far less snobby and pretentious than Easterners.

I actually moved from NY to TX to practice law. Then again, I'm not caught up in some false sense of prestige, so it really didn't matter where I practiced so long as I could get challenging, rewarding work and have decent weather.

I still love NYC, though.

To all those making fun of the poster talking about crime in NY: we'll see how much you're concerned about crime 6 months from now when unemployment is 10%+ in the city. Your memories are pretty short -- crime hasn't been issue since about 1995, but times are quickly changing.

The only thing I hate more than Texans are Muslims, but its pretty close.

Texas = Country God Forgot

60

Yah.

Laid-off financial services workers are a frighteningly real threat to the safety of our property, persons and way of life here in NY.

To all the NY lovers:

http://www.bestplaces.net/col/?salary=160000&city1=54819000&city2=53651000

Please enjoy living in your 1 bed/1 bath studio looking out into the concrete jungle with people above, below and on the side of you But I guess you make up for how little you actually make, after adjusting for COL and taxes (city taxes poised to raise 7-15% in NYC while Texas has 0% state income tax), by acting like self-righteous, pretentious d-bags and showing your complete ignorance of what life really is like in Texas (Shhh, the grass just might be greener, but you can't use that to justify why you took a shitty job in a hell-hole of a city, so quick, bash Texans for being hicks).

I'm so envious of all of you NYC BigLaw associates. I am now going to finish out my day, get home by 6:00, and have a glass of red wine while I watch the sunset from the back porch of my 3500 sq foot home on 2 acres. You guys, working 90 hour work weeks to barely afford my guest house, truly have it figured it out.

Sincerely,

5th year Texas BigLaw Associate

You gotta love NYC, there is nowhere else like it. BUT, as for living there...you simply cannot make the argument.

I live in TX, make NY base and get a little bonus. I also do NOT pay state income taxes (=1k more per month net), live in a very respectable house (3,500 sqft with pool -500k) with a very short commute to work.

Is it NYC...no. Am I saving a ton of money and living a great life...absolutely.

63 = sarcastic hick

63 LOL...New Yorkers rag on Texas but have never lived here. What a joke.

Why do people think that the Texas economy is directly tied to the price of a barrel crude. I'll be the first to admit that energy is a large part of the Texas economy, but the market for crude is not a microcosm for the entire energy energy. Texas doesn't even produce that much crude anymore. We do, however, have the largest wind-energy production in the country, as well as a shitload of natural gas. The Texas economy has been growing at a good clip for the past 10 years. The crude bubble only lasted for about a year.

But really, why does it matter? I happen to like NYC and DC, while at the same time loving Texas and choosing to live here. Isn't that strange? I don't have to justify my choices by degrading those of others.

Most -- if not all -- of the NY BigLaw clowns in this thread have never been to Texas. But since they moved to NY to work, because they thought it made them look cool and sound prestigious to their friends at reunions, they have to talk tough and degrade Texas.

63 etc are dead on...but the fact is, you shouldn't give a shit that some losers from NY knock Texas. If you live in Texas and like practicing there, you've already won, considering most of the BigLaw attorneys practicing in the Northeast are miserable. They can knock you all they want but if you're happy, fuck 'em.

Right on, 58!

DON"T FUCK WITH TEXAS!

69, I think you got it right, but you should replace Texas with anywhere...

If you live in Texas and like it, you've already won.
If you live in New York and like it, you've already won.
If you live in Omaha and like it, you've already won.

Different cities work for different people.

I've been to texas -- my firm's NYC office sent me there for work for about a week. Two of the associates on the team were from Dallas, which is where we were working. After the project (due diligence) was done, the two Dallas associates and myself decided to stay another week (I just wanted to see the city as I had never been there). Look, it wasn't a hillbilly, death-trap; but it certainly wasn't a place I would want to live. Now, don't get me wrong, I could live in Dallas, and it wouldn't be bad at all; but I'm not in the habit of doing everything I can: Yeah, I can screw that chubby chic with the rolls showing out of her dress and the arms that look like butcher-shop window dressing, but I don't. Why? There are better things. And like 58 said, affording a house big enough for a family of 6 is not everyone's sole reason for deciding in which city to live. If it is, God bless you and your Biblical procreating lifestyle. Other people, however, have other things to do in life beside go to work, make babies and raise said babies and put said babies to bed. Oh, and goiing out for dinner with the Mrs is such an event.

I grew up in the NYC area, but I have lived in TX for a number of years now. I certainly understand why New Yorkers usually have a negative impression of TX, particularly those who have never been here. In fact, I was once one of those people. I am now an attorney living and working in Austin, and it's great. But it's also true that there is no place like NYC. Bottom line--it makes sense to have great pride in NYC, but don't knock TX too much, it's actually a great place to live (well, at least Austin is).

Texas = Muslims = TTT

25 and 27, you must not live in NYC or live in very tiny apartments. You can live comfortably on 160 and pay off law school debt but you can't live that well.

63, I am a bit dubious of your claim. Most Texas law firms have the same 1900-2000 billable hour requirements that NYC firms have. You may have a little more free time but not much.

I agree with 44 -
All is not well with big law firms in Texas. Although bonuses are holding steady, stealth layoffs are occurring in several large offices. I know of several associates who have recently been laid off in Houston.

Hey guys, it all depends on your priorities.

Some people would rather get up for church every Sunday morning, drive around 4 screaming kids in their Dodge Ram (4-door extended cab version, of course), buy Valentine's Day, Christmas, birthday AND anniversary presents every year for a 265 lb. wife (who really needs the extra-wide staircase in that 3500 sq. ft. house on 2 acres) and avoid being caught outside under any circumstances from May until September, lest they risk swamp-ass.

Some people would rather do a bunch of blow on weekends and bang strippers.

DO NOT MESS WITH TEXAS. SMU FOR LIFE.

If you love Texas so much, and your relative salaries, then keep your mouths shut. The last thing we need are more lawyers moving here.

/s/

Texan

This is all smoke and mirrors. The Texas firms aren't paying bonuses, they're paying deferred compensation. That is, the bonus is only getting you up to where you should have been as a guaranteed base. The "merit-based" bonuses have all been 0 for the associates who were willing to tell.

73 has never seen the girls in Austin. Instead, he'd rather hook up with dark-haired, pale-skinned skanks from Tenjune, because that's sooo cool.

I love the TX-NY argument. I'm going to read it more tonight-- from my Home theater room in my 4300 Sq.ft. house that I bought as a 1st year associate.

Um, different strokes different folks?

I love both Texas and NYC.

people are nuts if they think that associates in Texas work less than on the coasts. i'm a 6th year (coming from T6) at big law in texas, and my hours are generally higher than the hours of most of my friends at firms in NYC, DC, etc. part of the reason for that is firms down here don't have retards running the them--we pay bonuses based on the number of hours you work, which incentivizes working hard and billing more. putting aside which city may be better, i would just assume shoot myself in the head as i would work at a firm that gave the same bonuses to people regardless of how hard they work or how good they are. i mean even public school systems aren’t that stupid.

Dallas and Austin are great for non-Texan transplants -- both very cosmopolitan cities (Austin in a more indie way). Houston and San Antonio are OK but definitely more "Texan." Before I married a Texan, I never thought I would live here. I was annoyed by the Texas pride. Now that I'm here, I like it a lot. It's a great option if you plan to practice law and raise a family. If I were single, I would live in New York or DC for the work experience.

I've heard of some layoffs here, though, and if things don't pick up soon you can expect salary freezes/reduced bonuses as in other major markets.

Good call 79--

Everyone here is fat and stupid. And the parking lots are full of horse crap.

75 = Racist SMU

77 and 44 are correct. Definitely layoffs going around town. I know b/c I am one.

Remember though - it is the firm you must consider. Old Texas firms like V&E, F&J have been there forever. Lots of East Coast firms have tried to move in to this state in the last several years. There is only so much pie to be had. Example - the latest firm to open a Houston office was DLA Piper. They grew way too fast with no real good ol' boy foot in the market. (leveraging Houston lawyers who came in from other East Coast firms) Now they have an office, but no work.

How do Texas lawyers feel about Oklahoma lawyers? How about Charlotte vs. Atlanta?

And why no CA-NY rivalry? CA seems a worthier opponent for self-absorbed NY associates (Texas seems a little too marginal and irrelevant to bother anyone, at least as far as the legal industry is concerned). NY-London maybe instead?

I lived in NYC for 3 years and now live in Dallas.

My lifestyle here is so much better than it was back in NYC. Before, I paid $3K/month for a tiny apartment with cockroaches and bedbugs. Taxes were too high, the subways were always crowded, and the city is so dirty and smells like shit. NYC is probably the dirtiest city I've been to; you just walk around and see garbage bags on every street corner and bums pissing on the street.

Here in Dallas, I live in an amazing condo, drive an aston martin, and have access to amazing restaurants and nightlife. And last, but certainly not least, the women in Dallas are a hundred times better than NYC women. So many gorgeous tanned blondes here in Dallas who are also down to earth, to boot. When I was in NYC, I saw very few hotties. They were mainly pale horsefaced girls who smoked a pack a day and thought they were hot simply because they wore designer clothing. Yuck!

NYC is a third-world shithole. Dallas is awesome! You New Yorkers are just jealous of our superior lifestyle and women.

It's time for everyone from NYC to just admit why they want to live there and move on, without coming down on other people:

1. Prestigious clients
2. Prestigious jobs
3. Hookers

Ok....maybe not #3, but the first two for sure. I can empathize with people sacrificing COL to work for companies like Coca-Cola or JP Morgan--seeing your work in the WSJ has to be rewarding. And yes, NYC definitely has the best nightlife (ever), but that doesn't mean living in NYC makes you better than anyone else.

If you sincerely need the attention you garner by flaming on ATL or bragging to your classmates at high school reunions to make you feel better about your choice, then take a step back, think about your priorities, and if they still fit with NYC, then move on knowing you're in the right place--fuck what anyone else says.

We don't need/want to hear about why NYC kicks everyone else's ass, just like we don't want to hear why little Jimmy's dad is the best....we're adults people, adults who have successfully fooled other adults into paying us $250 plus an hour, so I think we're doing just fine wherever we're at.

88 - Where are the layoffs happening in Texas?

88 - Which Texas firms are doing stealth layoffs?

92 -- well said, well said. I'm pretty sure everyone in NY BigLaw puffing out their chests is in it for the "prestige" (which means jackshit) of saying they work in a NY law firm. You can't say "the money" because if you do the math, the money is much better elsewhere, in terms of how far your money goes.

Oh, and it most certainly is also about hookers. I can't count how many fellow attorneys use Craigslist for late night thrills. It's downright sad ... and disgusting. But hey, NYC is soooooooo cooooooool.

STILL waiting for the bandwagoners to out the firms doing stealth layoffs....

80 - This is the correct response. People always seem to forget the pay structure of many of TX's Biglaw firms.

44 - You are also right on the mark.

Also, look to the hiring practices of those firms. Many cut their 2L classes (and almost ignored 3L hiring).

80 - This is the correct response.

Many of these are NOT bonuses. It's deferred salary comp.

@91 -- YOU'RE EITHER A DUMB FUCK OR LYING. TAKE YOUR PICK.

White Power!

/s/ Massa

91 - Plastic surgery =/= hot. And did you ever stop to think they were acting so "down to Earth" with you because they spotted your Aston Martin?

Dallas is a cesspool of superficial, money-grubbing status climbers.

Choose Austin or Houston if TX at all. Otherwise, pack your bags for NYC.

I'm a Negro with a big Mandingo Texas sized cock. I think I should move to Texas so I can afford a house large enough to fit it in. Yee Haw. Get along little doggie!

NYC women are a joke. The hottest girls at 1OAK, Rose Bar, or Bungalow 8, would be barely above average in Dallas or Austin.

NYC women are a joke. The hottest girls at 1OAK, Rose Bar, or Bungalow 8, would be barely above average in Dallas or Austin.

So let me get this straight: I'm a New Yorker that visits Dallas, and in order for me to see some good looking women I have to go to Austin...? Damn! Me thinks not. I haven't had that much of G.W. Bush's Texas-style Koolaid. Oh Yeah!!!

Me so horny. Me love you long time. You big Texas stud! Howdy ya'll. Get on the chuck wagon.

Despite any other reported failings, the one thing Dallas has is hot women. Austin, not so much; too many granolas.

Go suck on Walker Texas Ranger's cock.

I've done Chicago, DC and London, but fuck if I'm not about to throw in the damn towel and take my ass back to the comfort of the 4000 sq foot house on the 12,000 sq ft yard. Fuck the dumb shit, space matters people. But I think its a matter of what you're used to. Having grown up in Houston, I am now officially over the shit life of the tiny, cramped urban dwelling that costs more than my mother's fucking 5 bedroom house in a gated community with a 3 car detached garage. Fuck it. I give up. Fuck prestige, fuck sophistication, fuck it all. Give me my GMC, TARGET and the keys to my fucking barbie dream house and let me have some room to spread out and a place where my fucking pothead husband can go to smoke out in private.

Sincerely,

the quitter

-76

When you get in at 7 am and work Monday through Saturday, you get to call a couple days at 6 pm. I usually do the 7-7 or 7-8. I am fully aware of the incentive system, and it is freaking sweet to get what you deserve when you ball and hit 2900+ hours/year and not get screwed over when your tightwad partners want to keep up their PPP.

Simply put, I am subjectively right (sort of a tautology right, my own thoughts are correct to me) about my living/working situation, and in all fairness NYC BigLaw associates are too. My posts aren't intended to do anything beyond inflame the people who live in NYC that are laughably insecure and subsequently get into a pissing contest with everyone ("best nightlife," "best delis," "best hookers," etc..)

In all seriousness, I'm a Northwestern Alum who didn't drink the Kool-Aid about Chicago and NY. I was lucky enough to have visited Texas and have family there, which gave me some perspective when I was considering where to go to work. To all the law students reading this, you will have to make tough choices regarding your location:

Do you work in D.C. and stick close to the political center of the free world while at the same time being in the most violent city in America? Do you work in NY knowing that the only thing that will get you through your 100 hour workweeks is prestige? Do you live in Texas and have your money go farther, but constantly take shit for being less prestigious due to your clientele/location?

At the end of the day, anyone who hasn't already made their choice needs to inform themselves of these things and not blindly go after the most prestigious jobs in the most prestigious cities. Because if you do, you might end up so wound up in your work (which has to define and sustain you because you have no time for family/friends/yourself) that you feverishly watch blog postings about bonuses and lose your f***ing mind over compensation issues you should have been intelligent enough to see coming.

Hiding behind a wall of prestige won't save you from basic economics, loneliness or the mirror when it's all said and done, you're 65 and in the nuptials of NYT for your 4th marriage.

So do your research 1Ls and up. Go for what you want, not what USNWR, Vault or the prestige whores on this site tell you to do.

-78

Nice backhanded dig at my imaginary wife; I sincerely hope that your insult sparks the severe case of anorexia that she so desperately needs.

-65

I work in sarcasm the way Picasso worked in cubism.

--63

Lived in Dallas, Austin and DC. Visited NYC many times in all seasons, but never lived there. I visited So. Cal. once, went home, packed up my stuff and moved to So. Cal.

It's certainly not cheap here, but not nearly as bad as NYC. I am a 5th year and can afford a decent 8-year-old house a mile from the beach. We already have enough people here, so don't come.

We got more bounce in california than all y'all combined.

Have met many Texas lawyers, they all like to take it up the ass from the Chicago sausage king

Joe Jamail made Marty Lipton (the second name partner in WLRK) to spill it on the stand.

Texas plaintiff bar > NY prestige bar

Sorry to raise a legitimate point in the face of all the digs at Texas, but on Friday someone posted that Vinson & Elkins had announced that it was NOT freezing salaries. What is the story here? Does anyone know whether this is true?

Got a question for NYC you BigLaw associates. When you're getting your prostate massages (aka puny bonuses) does it ever make you wonder what's up when you realize that BOTH of your Managing Partner's hands are on your shoulders? I mean, it's beginning to sound to me like NYC partners are "the kind of guys that would fuck a person in the ass and not even have the goddam common courtesy to give an associate a reach-around."

I mean everyone knows we've got acre lots, pools and three cars for associates here in Texas but did you know we don't tolerate anal rape by partners? For those so inclined, or disinclined, come on down. The weather's great, the beer's cold and the honey's are, well, enthusiastic.

114 - I work at V&E and can confirm that V&E is not freezing salaries.

109 - where were you when I was deciding between CravaTTTh, Skadden, K&E, Covington and V&E.

3L stretching his hamstrings for the east coast onslaught!!!

116-Are salary increases being considered at V&E?

111-

Please take this as a friendly heads-up about CA--New York's cooler younger brother:

http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2008/12/california-bankrupt-democrats-prescribe.html

Is this blog slightly biased...possibly, but this poster isn't and simply googled "california bankrupt." It mentions an article by The Guardian. Furthermore, it has been all over the news that CA is paying out tax refunds with IOUs and was 4-6 weeks away from bankruptcy.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-tax-refunds7-2008jan07,0,7471181.story

A slightly more reputable article. CA is a beautiful place, but they really need to get their priorities straight--not an opinion, a fact borne out by their terrible financial state, which is undeniable. Would you really like to move out there right as they're desperate for money and looking to put their hands deeper in your pockets?

I feel genuinely sorry for you 111 and I hope that CA turns it around so more people can enjoy a wonderful state without getting ass-raped with taxes and COL. Enjoy what you can while you can.

Suburbs are suburbs, so when I have kids I wouldn't mind living in TX if I can have a McMansion, pool, and a M3.

However, I don't want to meet my future wife at a Hooters so until then I'll stay in NYC.

118 - Normal raises due to class year advancement will occur. I don't think V&E is planning any additional raises to this existing salary scale. The deferred compensation arrangement will be maintained at 2000 hours.

@121

Can you, or someone else, please clarify exactly how these "deferred compensation" schemes work at the TX Biglaw?

I used to work at a big firm in Texas that had offices in New York and DC and I always hated working with the bastards from up North. They are neurotic incompetent assholes and being condescending made them truly unbearable. You can't pay me enough to motivate me to move to NY, DC or anywhere up North. All I can say to these loosers is that Texas (and that's when you only count the Houston and Dallas markets and not counting Austin, San Antonio and El Paso) has the same number of Fortune 500 company HQs as NY and unlike the NY companies, the ones down here are sitting on piles of cash and were raking it in with the high price of oil as recently as Q3. The Texas economy kicks ass but profits at some big Texas firms are behind compared to the big NY firms. It's only a matter of time for things to change though. Look for oil price recovery by mid-summer and some more economic ass kicking from Texas. Our weather is better, our economy is better, our women are prettier, our demographics are better and growing, our cost of living is tremendously better and yes, if I ever wanted to visit the stinkhole called NYC, I could catch a $150 direct flight, but I don't cause all I need is down here.

122,

It is extra compensation for billing 2000 hours, but can also be thought of as a retroactive raise if you cross 2000 hours. You generally get it in the month that you cross the threshold if you cross it early enough in the month, or for the next month if you cross it later in the month.

In my experience, you don't get the whole amount in one lump sum if you cross it in any month other than the last month of the year. For example, if you cross it on Oct 2, you would get 10/12ths of the total deferred comp on Oct 31 and then another 1/12th on Nov 31 and 1/12 on Dec 31. I think they should pay the entire amount whenever you go over 2000 hours, but it doesn't work that way.

Obviously, it contains excellent downside protection for the firm. Firms would probably never be able to get away with the deferred comp in NY and California and it highlights the fact that TX firms really don't pay as well as NY and Cali firms, even though they try to appear as if they do. However, I do appreciate that it is a way to try and bridge the gap to the higher paying markets, even if it is an imperfect way to do so.

What does it say about Texas that none of us want to live there (again) even with the 4000 sq ft homes and lots of bedrooms and fancy cars and detached garages. I have no garage and only one spare bedroom but would kill myself if forced to move back to there.

I don't live in NYC, by the way. You don't have to live in NYC to know Texas sucks, you just have to have lived in Texas at some point.

Joey: ...so what happens when you're wrong?
Nick: Whoa, Joey I'm never wrong.
Joey: But you can't always be right...
Nick: Well, if it's your job to be right, then you're never wrong.
Joey: But what if you are wrong?
Nick: OK, let's say that you're defending Texas, and I'm defending New York. Now if I were to say to you: 'New York is the best state', you'd say...
Joey: No, Texas is.
Nick: Exactly, but you can't win that argument... so, I'll ask you: so you think Texas is the end all and the be all of states, do you?
Joey: It's the best state! I wouldn't live anywhere else.
Nick: Oh! So it's all Texas for you is it?
Joey: Yes, Texas is all I need.
Nick: Well, I need more than Texas, and for that matter I need more than New York. I believe that we need freedom. And choice when it comes to our State, and that, Joey, that is the defintion of liberty.
Joey: But that's not what we're talking about.
Nick: Ah! But that's what I'm talking about.
Joey: ...but you didn't prove that New York was the best...
Nick: I didn't have to. I proved that you're wrong, and if you're wrong I'm right.
Joey: But you still didn't convince me
Nick: It's that I'm not after you. I'm after them.
[points at the ATL Commenters]

126 - I want to THANK YOU FOR that SMOKING post

All the Texas haters can suck Austin's dick. Whatever city you live in (NYC, LA, Chicago, Philly, etc) is a complete shithole to anyone who has ever lived in Austin.

119 - I totally agree with you. It's a high cost of living in CA. You certainly have to weigh the pros and cons before going anywhere. But, it's 78 degrees and sunny today. Everyone is happy all the time (even with a budget crisis). Life is just too sweet out here to worry much about a few extra dollars in taxes. I smell the ocean when I open the windows of my home - worth every penny. Also, I feel safe knowing that you will soon be bailing us out with your tax dollars via the federal gov't. Thanks in advance.

Like I said, we have enough people here. don't come.

111

People crowing about how Texas has it made in Jan 2009 because of bonuses, 6 months after oil crash, are like people crowing about how NYC had it made in Jan 2008 because of bonuses, 6 months after beginning of subprime crash.

Texas lawyers...I see your future....