Biglaw Firm Offering Signing Bonus For 3Ls!
The first-years will be making much more than $180K.
A year after announcing that it would decimate its summer program[1] going forward, Quinn Emanuel announced a new plan to follow through on its strategy of recruiting 3Ls to fill its ranks of eager litigators.
The firm is offering a $35,000 signing bonus to rising 3L students who interview this fall and join the firm as first-year associates in fall 2017.
Well, that certainly sweetens the pot. Especially after Quinn Emanuel already raised salaries to the $180K scale. Since the firm is mostly hiring 3Ls and clerks — who are earning bonuses on the $75K scale — this means the majority of first-years at Quinn Emanuel will be earning much more than the $180K the rest of the first-year cohort at other firms expect to make.
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The firm took the opportunity of this announcement to take another swipe at the concept of summer programs:
Choosing a law firm is a big decision for a law student; it is about a career, not a summer program. Inertia causes most students to choose a law firm after only one year as a law student, when students have little experience or information. By the time students are in their third year, they are in a much better position to make an informed decision. We believe third year students who know they want to be trial lawyers will understand what QE has to offer them.
You say “inertia,” I say, “white-knuckled risk aversion,” let’s call the whole thing off. Whatever the reason, it’s true that 3Ls are in a much better position to make an informed decision about their long-term future, but frankly we’re comparing them to rising 2Ls, so maybe we’ve set the bar pretty low. It’s hard to know much of anything about the proper shape of a career when a student is only one or two years in. While the firm is silent on how many 3Ls it hopes to hire, the fact that it’s placing so much emphasis on lawyers making an informed decision suggests the firm may be eyeing lateral hires a bit more often than 3Ls to build for the future.
Still, this is a tremendous opportunity for a committed 3L. While the firm is participating in a few on-campus interviewpaloozas, it actually puts the onus upon students to reach out for an interview:
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If you are a 3L and think you are a litigation master of the universe in the making, you are invited to submit an application to recruiting@quinnemanuel.com.
“Litigation master of the universe.” At least there’s no risk they’ll recruit insufferable blowhards…
Earlier: Biglaw Firm Decimates Summer Associate Program
Quinn Emanuel Announces Pay Raises For Associates
Clerkship Bonus Watch: Will $75K Become The New Standard?
Joe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.
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[1] Not technically accurate… the firm left only 10 percent standing (as opposed to axing 10 percent and leaving 90 percent standing), but the imagery gets the point across.
