Freaking out

[cesco]

It is true...I heard that salaries will be going up to 190K from a partner at a V100 firm. Yay!

I dont understand why firms would increase salaries so drastically.  If they increase the salaries of new associates, then it goes all the way up the ladder to all of the attorneys in the firm.  How do they cover this?  Either by charging clients more $ or increasing billable hours.

There is a breaking point with clients, especially in the secondary markets.  I know of at least one firm in my city that did increase salaries last year to stay competitive, yet also increased billable hours.  Not by a lot, but by just enough that it starts to get scary. 

An increase from $145 - $190 in less than 5 years is a little too intense for the market, IMO.

[danboltonage22]

I do have 2 years work experience in finance and I am targeting NC, primarily Charlotte, which is supposed to be the second biggest financial center in the states. I thought it would be a good match, lol.

In a market like Charlotte, your ties to the city are WAY WAY more important than your academic or work background. If you aren't from there, don't have family there, or don't have a wife from there, they will basically just write you off and move on.

You are right on regarding Charlotte.  However, the national firms seem more likely to overlook lack of ties to city if you're graduating from wake or unc.  I guess choosing those schools shows you are committed to living in Charlotte when you graduate.

I also think the firms realize that in a city Charlotte's size your ability to cultivate relationships is extremely important.  They want people who can use their unc/ wake ug and ls networks to bring in business.     

[vivi2]

You are right on regarding Charlotte.  However, the national firms seem more likely to overlook lack of ties to city if you're graduating from wake or unc.  I guess choosing those schools shows you are committed to living in Charlotte when you graduate.

I also think the firms realize that in a city Charlotte's size your ability to cultivate relationships is extremely important.  They want people who can use their unc/ wake ug and ls networks to bring in business.     

Not so fast...even national firms want to know why you want to work in a specific city and you'd better have a convincing answer for it. The reason for this is that it costs them a lot of money to recruit and train their associates, so they don't want all that money to go down the drain if they can help it. A partner at the NYC office of a V50 firm told me that the firm really doesn't want to hire people who have no ties to NYC and who want to "try out" living in the city only to realize two years later that it's too much for them and then take off for home. It's simple economics. If you have a tie to a city or region, make sure to let them know--for example, I grew up near NYC but go to school elsewhere. On my resume, however, I do not put my current address on but my home address, because it makes sense to employers why I would want to go back to NYC. Needless to say, firms were very satisfied with my answer to their query (why I want to practice in New York).

[yykm]

Is there any way to convince employers to give you a shot when you dont have ties to that market?  (Outside of the obvious - high grades, LR, etc.)

[vivi2]

Is there any way to convince employers to give you a shot when you dont have ties to that market?  (Outside of the obvious - high grades, LR, etc.)

It's tough unless you went to school in that city. You need to demonstrate that you know a lot about the city and that you've visited enough to know what life is probably like there; then you might have a shot. Law firms are keen on making the most out of their investments--they don't want to spend money recruiting and training someone who will take off after a year or two because he/she wants to go back home.

[Krisace]

As for raising salaries, salaries had been stagnant for the last 6 years or so until the bump in February 2006.  Even with the recent increases, the ratio of avg. profits per partner:associate salaries is much higher than it was ten or twenty years ago. 

Some firms can most definitely afford to raise.  Some can but won't and thus in the next 1-2 years the market will be segmented between the top 50 firms and the rest.

In choosing your firm, you should be aware of (1) whether they are on a locktep salary system and (2) what their bonus structure is.  For the first time in a long time, bonuses have become a huge diferentiating factor.  For example, NY-based firms will pay about $40K for a first year bonus. MoFo is at $15K if you work 2,100 hours or so (I think).  Cooley - $17K, O'Melveny/Gibson $25K; Orrick $25-45K.

[ANBUDOM]

I do have 2 years work experience in finance and I am targeting NC, primarily Charlotte, which is supposed to be the second biggest financial center in the states. I thought it would be a good match, lol.

In a market like Charlotte, your ties to the city are WAY WAY more important than your academic or work background. If you aren't from there, don't have family there, or don't have a wife from there, they will basically just write you off and move on.

Add Richmond to the list

[Alamo79]

Is there any way to convince employers to give you a shot when you dont have ties to that market?  (Outside of the obvious - high grades, LR, etc.)

If there's something about the market that makes it particularly suited to a career interest, bring that up.

If you have lots of friends in an area, bring it up.  Family, definitely bring it up.

If you've visited, bring it up.

If you like it's geographical situation (close to beach, mountains, river, etc.), you can bring that up, but it starts to sound like a stretch in many places.

If you've got none of the above, you will sound like you're just interviewing aimlessly, and you will likely get teh ding.

[eli250]

I've definitely gotten my share of dings for interviewing outside of "my market."  It is really frustrating, because I'm a northeasterner going to a regional school in the south, so even the firms right around my school seem disinterested because I don't speak "y'all."  Which types of firms are least likely to care about your ties to an area and in which cities?