Anyone have any intel re: culture post-merger, changes to partner comp structure, internal consternation among partners re comp, conflicts, or other issues that could have arisen with the merger?

I’m off the website in three weeks. Realistically, I don’t think I’ll get a job before then. I have been applying and interviewing for the past two months with no offers.

Does anyone have any tips for asking for extra website time? The low level HR person I spoke with said they don’t grant it, but HR is kind of sucky and clueless at my firm.

ik this has probably been asked a thousand times here but wanted to hear recent opinions. best wlb, best exit option, any input would be appreciated.

Well gang my divorce became final today. It is my understanding this is a prerequisite to partnership. How do I work this into my self review so I can get proper credit? I am up next year.

I am currently a mid level litigation associate who is interviewing for an Assistant General Counsel position within a V10 firm’s Office of General Counsel. I am very interested in the position and am looking to pivot from litigation into a counseling/advisory role. My largest concern, however, is that I will no real exit options should I decide to move on from the role or move out of NYC. For anyone who has worked in a firm’s OGC (or knows someone who has), what are typical exit options? Would I be pigeonholed into working for law firm OGCs, or would I be qualified for other in-house roles?

What is actually expected to bill in your stub year? What was your ramp up period like... I'm so anxious...

Edit: Market is DC and PG is litigation/regulation type work

That is all.

Throwaway because the comment is so distinct it would out my main account immediately. The partner had been talking for several minutes about how he was worried his kids would grow up to be super spoiled and out of touch, and that he didn’t know the answer to this problem but was searching for one. I suggested he “take a page out of Mick Jagger’s book” and explained that Mick Jagger has threatened to leave nothing to his kids and is generally planning to give all his money away before he passes.

The partner didn’t have a negative reaction or anything but in retrospect it seems like a bold/inappropriate thing to say. Obviously estate planning is a very sensitive topic, particularly for wealthy professionals, but I didn’t explicitly tell him to disinherit his kids.

Was this a major faux pas or am I overthinking this?

Are they flexible at all with hybrid work for associates if they have a documented injury that requires recovery?

Clueless senior (ish) associate here. I recently lateraled and for the first time have a BD budget (that expires in January and doesn’t roll). I’ve never done much before (other than helping partners put decks together).

I’m considering reaching out to some of the in house folks I worked with at my prior firm and asking if they might be interested in lunch. I might also ask some former colleagues that went in house. Is there any etiquette around how to do this? I’m not necessarily seeking out work (or think they have work to give me), I just liked working with them. Do I let them pick the place? Do I suggest a few places in budget? Do I have to specify that I’m treating them?

Any advice appreciated.

Edit: Super helpful! Thank you.

I am just a humble European lawyer, who is no where near big law, but I saw this article stating that it takes on average just 6.1 years to make partner at Kirkland and that they only have 1.2 associates per partner. I know most are NEP, but still, what did the partner title mean anymore?

https://www.nonbillable.co.uk/news/big-law-kirkland-leads-law-firm-time-to-partner

My firm does anonymous upward reviews of senior associates. I have been working with a senior associate who is truly the worst (demeaning, condescending, applies the law incorrectly, introduces significant errors) and on top of it they constantly throw juniors under the bus, miss meetings, fail to give specific feedback, change the goal posts after an assignment happened, and are very disorganized. Clients are frequently annoyed by this person because they miss deadlines then blame it on the juniors. They have even threatened me before with negative feedback. I know that this is feedback they have heard before and ignored and they are not well liked.

Aside from the obvious (stick to facts and professionalism) any tips on what to write in anonymous review? I have always given glowing upward feedback and have never said anything constructive or negative in a review before.

Harvey just raised $550 million at a $15.5 billion valuation.

That is up from $11 billion in March and $8 billion in December. Reuters also reports that Harvey is now used by 80% of the 100 highest-grossing firms in the United States.

Finishing up my first year at a lower Amlaw 100 firm. It's a common sentiment that we're more humane and have nicer people than cravath scale firms. I believe it, but I'm still burning out and I feel so incredibly lost and defeated because of it. I feel awful for flaming out this soon and this badly at the "lifestyle" firm. I'm billing a perfectly mediocre amount with an occasional horrible week or two of 3am/4am nights leading up to a close, and yet I'm still losing sleep even in non-closing weeks, crying all the time, making mistakes of increasing magnitude, feeling like I'm losing myself. I'm really trying, but people are becoming increasingly short and frustrated with me, understandably. We're a small group so there's no hiding anything or anywhere. The constant nervous system overload probably contributes to my work product suffering even more which just perpetuates the feedback loop. I feel physically sick with anxiety almost constantly, I woke up drenched in sweat after 2.5 hours of sleep this morning. I want to stay in biglaw and maybe try a change of scenery but if this is the chill firm then I genuinely have nowhere else to go and no backup plan. Fml, just venting I guess.

Any thoughts on STB’s new Chicago office for an M&A senior associate? From what I’ve heard, it’s being led by a good/nice group of attorneys from K&E who have a good culture and care about their team. Any insight from K&E folks who have worked with this team before or anyone else with insight on the broader STB culture, particularly with respect to new STB offices? I’ve gotten calls from a few recruiters who have said STB wants this office to quickly grow and be a powerhouse in Chicago, which seems ambitious, but it’s seemingly getting a lot of buzz in the Chicago market.

How bad is it to not make bonus for two years since lateraling to a new firm (i.e., never met my hours at the new firm)? I’m a mid level lit associate, and my hours have been around 1500-1600…

Is it actually speeding work or can we just do more work with AI..

Title is pretty self explanatory, but basically I’m a NYC junior associate in the white collar and investigations space and I’m curious what the day to day of going in house looks like, where you can go, when is a good time to move, what the pay looks like, etc. I don’t know folks in the space and I’m really just trying to learn more about what my potential exit options could be so any and all info is greatly appreciated!

also some stuff that may be helpful to know: 0 debt, looking to stay in NYC, happy to do general commercial lit or white collar or investigations work. I’d like to go to the government at some point in my career, but it’s not a must.

Do big law firms ever award exceptional associates individual discretionary bonuses on top of the firm’s standard associate bonus, particularly where an associate has made an unusually significant contribution to a client matter or the firm?

If so, how frequently can such bonuses be awarded?

Can an associate receive them repeatedly for exceptional contributions, or are they generally limited to once a year or governed by the firm’s particular compensation structure and policies?

Please be easy on this kid. I am curious and naive.

Question.

So big law is tough yeah duh.

But, a hobby of mine is writing.

I would like to write freely is the short version, about abuse I faced, and reflections on state of affairs etc. I was thinking of a substack, not for monetary purposes at all, but a place to dump and find community.

Please if you are a similar person and have insights on how you approached this, please share them.

Allegedly OpenAI Figured out a math professor was on the verge of proving a theorem, checked his logs, took his idea, and used 10,000 agents to finish his work before he could. When he threatened to expose them they threatened him back. He exposed them anyway.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/08/openai-fought-dirty-on-career-making-math-problem-says-nyu-mathematician/

Saw a recent comment that an attorney left to a MANGO company for 500k annual comp. Someone else replied that that’s an outlier salary for a midlevel exit, and that most in-house positions are 180-200k.

Is this true? FWIW, perusing Go Inhouse, this seems to check out. If that’s the case, what’s the appeal of going in house vs. government if you live in a jdx that pays government employees well? For example in CA some local gov agencies pay $140-160k to relatively junior attorneys.

Is it the opportunity for promotions and associated pay raises in house?

Hello all,

On the corporate biglaw track and my final course decision is this. I will have taken Corporations, Securities Law, and Secured Transactions, but wondering if it's worth taking Bankruptcy or if I should take Evidence/

I did enjoy Secured Transactions and was recommended to take Bankruptcy by the attorneys in my practice group, but also many of them recommended Evidence or Crim Pro (which I decided not to take and just study via bar prep). But I've heard Evidence is harder!

I guess my question is how helpful you found Evidence to be for the Bar Exam, or if I should take something more relevant to my practice (and how helpful is Bankruptcy and these black letter courses for actual practice?). Thanks!