Anonymous wrote:Good boutiques often get gobbled up by biglaw (See Bancroft). Then you are right back to biglaw culture.

Bancroft, frankly, is not a good representative example of boutique law firms. It was elite among the elite. Truly an exceptional case.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the advice. Now-another question. The firm that is recruiting me is considered a boutique. Very few associates. I would come in as counsel with expectation of becoming partner in a few years. They have a great reputation in a very niche litigation field. They pride themselves on being family-friendly, low billables, etc but also are open that partners do not get biglaw-level compensation (which I don't want).

Do some boutiques actually work like this? Or will I still be a slave to my iPhone 24/7?

by and large, the QOL will be much better, but it isn't outside the realm of possibility for a boutique or midlaw firm to require insane billables. unlikely, though. the vibe will also be very different. i was at a national L&E firm for a few years and lateraled to biglaw last year. we wore jeans, went out to lunch, spent time shooting the shit and joking around throughout the workday. biglaw firm is all business, all the time. people sit in their offices with their business casual clothes on and don't really socialize.

Agree with all of this. It's also important to determine if it really is a well-respected boutique that has a substantial client base. Or is it a small firm that is struggling? If a small firm makes it on a Chambers list with mostly biglaw firms, then it is a legit boutique. Not to say that the hours will be better. That is more of a firm by firm basis.

One benefit of biglaw is that there typically isn't a huge facetime requirement. You just have to get the work done whereever. At boutiques, your physical absence will be noticed.

What a stupid thing to say. FaceTime varies dramatically according to the partner you are working for. You would have figured that out if you were in big law.

one of the biggest drawbacks to biglaw is it's filled with people like you. insufferable debate team nerds.

Anonymous wrote:If you were talking about a matter of weeks, sure, but you are talking about nearly a year. I doubt your current firm would feel the same sense of loyalty to you if things went downhill there. If I were you, I'd jump ship while you have the opportunity.

This +1000

At this stage in your career you should be conducting a thorough, thoughtful search for your next move, not just jumping on opportunities that happen to fall in your lap. I'm troubled that you seem to be considering stay vs this boutique firm as a binary choice.

But yes, you should leave when you want to, not when it is convenient for your boss.

I am a partner at a big firm and I would say don't misplace your loyalty in favor of a good opportunity. Most firms will dump people as soon as they cease to have enough value. They will live without you if this is the right opportunity. You could of course offer to keep working on it at your new firm if there are no conflicts etc. but there is little chance your old firm would agree to that arrangement. Why? Because they don't think you are irreplaceable.

Anonymous wrote:Good boutiques often get gobbled up by biglaw (See Bancroft). Then you are right back to biglaw culture.

That is an extraordinary exception given the talent there.

Good boutiques often get gobbled up by biglaw (See Bancroft). Then you are right back to biglaw culture.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the advice. Now-another question. The firm that is recruiting me is considered a boutique. Very few associates. I would come in as counsel with expectation of becoming partner in a few years. They have a great reputation in a very niche litigation field. They pride themselves on being family-friendly, low billables, etc but also are open that partners do not get biglaw-level compensation (which I don't want).

Do some boutiques actually work like this? Or will I still be a slave to my iPhone 24/7?

by and large, the QOL will be much better, but it isn't outside the realm of possibility for a boutique or midlaw firm to require insane billables. unlikely, though. the vibe will also be very different. i was at a national L&E firm for a few years and lateraled to biglaw last year. we wore jeans, went out to lunch, spent time shooting the shit and joking around throughout the workday. biglaw firm is all business, all the time. people sit in their offices with their business casual clothes on and don't really socialize.

Agree with all of this. It's also important to determine if it really is a well-respected boutique that has a substantial client base. Or is it a small firm that is struggling? If a small firm makes it on a Chambers list with mostly biglaw firms, then it is a legit boutique. Not to say that the hours will be better. That is more of a firm by firm basis.

One benefit of biglaw is that there typically isn't a huge facetime requirement. You just have to get the work done whereever. At boutiques, your physical absence will be noticed.

What a stupid thing to say. FaceTime varies dramatically according to the partner you are working for. You would have figured that out if you were in big law.

You are a charmer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the advice. Now-another question. The firm that is recruiting me is considered a boutique. Very few associates. I would come in as counsel with expectation of becoming partner in a few years. They have a great reputation in a very niche litigation field. They pride themselves on being family-friendly, low billables, etc but also are open that partners do not get biglaw-level compensation (which I don't want).

Do some boutiques actually work like this? Or will I still be a slave to my iPhone 24/7?

by and large, the QOL will be much better, but it isn't outside the realm of possibility for a boutique or midlaw firm to require insane billables. unlikely, though. the vibe will also be very different. i was at a national L&E firm for a few years and lateraled to biglaw last year. we wore jeans, went out to lunch, spent time shooting the shit and joking around throughout the workday. biglaw firm is all business, all the time. people sit in their offices with their business casual clothes on and don't really socialize.

Agree with all of this. It's also important to determine if it really is a well-respected boutique that has a substantial client base. Or is it a small firm that is struggling? If a small firm makes it on a Chambers list with mostly biglaw firms, then it is a legit boutique. Not to say that the hours will be better. That is more of a firm by firm basis.

One benefit of biglaw is that there typically isn't a huge facetime requirement. You just have to get the work done whereever. At boutiques, your physical absence will be noticed.

What a stupid thing to say. FaceTime varies dramatically according to the partner you are working for. You would have figured that out if you were in big law.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the advice. Now-another question. The firm that is recruiting me is considered a boutique. Very few associates. I would come in as counsel with expectation of becoming partner in a few years. They have a great reputation in a very niche litigation field. They pride themselves on being family-friendly, low billables, etc but also are open that partners do not get biglaw-level compensation (which I don't want).

Do some boutiques actually work like this? Or will I still be a slave to my iPhone 24/7?

by and large, the QOL will be much better, but it isn't outside the realm of possibility for a boutique or midlaw firm to require insane billables. unlikely, though. the vibe will also be very different. i was at a national L&E firm for a few years and lateraled to biglaw last year. we wore jeans, went out to lunch, spent time shooting the shit and joking around throughout the workday. biglaw firm is all business, all the time. people sit in their offices with their business casual clothes on and don't really socialize.

Agree with all of this. It's also important to determine if it really is a well-respected boutique that has a substantial client base. Or is it a small firm that is struggling? If a small firm makes it on a Chambers list with mostly biglaw firms, then it is a legit boutique. Not to say that the hours will be better. That is more of a firm by firm basis.

One benefit of biglaw is that there typically isn't a huge facetime requirement. You just have to get the work done whereever. At boutiques, your physical absence will be noticed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the advice. Now-another question. The firm that is recruiting me is considered a boutique. Very few associates. I would come in as counsel with expectation of becoming partner in a few years. They have a great reputation in a very niche litigation field. They pride themselves on being family-friendly, low billables, etc but also are open that partners do not get biglaw-level compensation (which I don't want).

Do some boutiques actually work like this? Or will I still be a slave to my iPhone 24/7?

Op, you seem quite naive for someone who has been practicing law for so long.

And you seem like a nasty person who doesn't get the concept of "advice." People who have been in biglaw for so long often do not know about the qol of other options.

I made switch from a biglaw regulatory practice to a boutique five years ago. Best move I ever made. Didn't take a big salary hit as a senior associate, but now as partner I don't make much more (around 300-350k usually). My hours are great. In the office from about 8-5 and then a little work after kids are in bed. But NOTHING like biglaw.

You are a true charmer, pp. hope you don't resort to name calling so quickly in real life.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the advice. Now-another question. The firm that is recruiting me is considered a boutique. Very few associates. I would come in as counsel with expectation of becoming partner in a few years. They have a great reputation in a very niche litigation field. They pride themselves on being family-friendly, low billables, etc but also are open that partners do not get biglaw-level compensation (which I don't want).

Do some boutiques actually work like this? Or will I still be a slave to my iPhone 24/7?

by and large, the QOL will be much better, but it isn't outside the realm of possibility for a boutique or midlaw firm to require insane billables. unlikely, though. the vibe will also be very different. i was at a national L&E firm for a few years and lateraled to biglaw last year. we wore jeans, went out to lunch, spent time shooting the shit and joking around throughout the workday. biglaw firm is all business, all the time. people sit in their offices with their business casual clothes on and don't really socialize.

Anonymous wrote: fact is, you aren't 100% essential to this matter. that's the nice thing about biglaw - always plenty of bodies to step in and take over.

this is the cold, hard truth.