ITT: Accurate answers to questions about biglaw

[themanwithnoname]

did this in the pre-law board. Thought it might be useful.

[themanwithnoname]

The partners seem to love it. I would say that a significant number of people like their jobs, and it goes up the more senior you get.

[nealric]

Generally speaking, the senior people in any organization are the most likely to be happy working there.

[StevePirates]

Which causes which do you think?

Do the people who like the job stick around to become senior?
Or does seniority and its perks make people happy?

Probably both would be my guess.

[Talk Is Cheap]

How hard is it, really, to get into biglaw coming from outside t14 (I'll be 20 or 22, whatever the hell they ranked us this year). You hear all this stuff about only top 25% of Ivy grads getting plum jobs, but then again you hear conflicting info too. What's the word?

[LittleRussianPrincess, Esq.]

How hard is it, really, to get into biglaw coming from outside t14 (I'll be 20 or 22, whatever the hell they ranked us this year). You hear all this stuff about only top 25% of Ivy grads getting plum jobs, but then again you hear conflicting info too. What's the word?

It mattered a lot less 20 years ago than it does now. I know several partners very prestigious firms that went to lower ranked schools. Now it's definitely more difficult. Firms typically limit their OCI schedule to top schools and a few local ones, so if you're outside the market and outside the top 20 or so schools, it's more difficult to get your foot in the door. You might be able to score something through networking, but, again, it's more difficult than the traditional OCI path to employment.

It is absolutely NOT true that only the top 25% of Ivy grads get biglaw or what you are calling plum jobs.

[Rajah]

What are the work hours REALLY like?

[offer]

What are the work hours REALLY like?

It depends on the city, but in Philly, it appears to be 50-60 actual hours worked per week.  This is my experience as a summer associate at one large law firm in Philly (as a summer, I only worked about 45-50 hours per week).  I've stayed pretty late on several occasions, and most attorneys weren't in the office when I left.  I'm not sure about hours worked from home.

I've also spent a summer in New York, and the attorneys there worked significantly more hours than did the Philly attorneys.

[TimMitchell]

::begins to lurk::

[offer]

My question is this:

Could you really pass up the money that comes with a biglaw job if you are offered such a position?

My personal answer is no, even though money isn't everything.  However, I plan to save as much money as possible so as to keep my options open.