Law firm
Foreign attorney with CA license. Did not go to a school in the US.. how to get a job in a decent law firm in the Bat area? Interest area- Corporate, commercial, technology transactions
OP. It helps if you’re connected to Alfred but I can put in a word with Bruce for you.
Getting an LLM from a US law school helps.
Ya but that needs another year of studying and money. I can’t afford to at this point
Well I guess you don’t really want a high paying job then. 🤷♀️ There’s no shortcuts when you’re a foreigner.
Actually, LLM helps if you want to get into a firm the benefit/cost ratio is not that great, especially if you are not planning to stick around in US for long
I do plan to stay in the US permanently but ultimately would like to go in house in a tech company. But I guess you need law firm experience for that.
Not necessarily true. I worked in business roles at Microsoft before transitioning to a counsel role. No law firm experience.
Ya I guess you just have to get your step into the door once somehow
Please don’t take the job of poor JDs at-least. Law degree is expensive here in US. Not sure why/how would you even get visa for such a job.
Lmao are you even aware of the competetition out there for law jobs? I know MANY JDs out there struggling to get into "decent" law firms, for LLMs it's even more difficult compared to JDs but at least their chances are a lot higher than you. And here you are not wanting another year of studying & loans BUT wanting to get a job in a "decent" law firm. lol. You sound delusiounal. Let me gather some facts for you: 1. The only group of people who gets in those decent law firms easily are JDs from elite law schools. 2. Then comes LLMs from elite law schools and JDs from any other law schools. 3. For LLMs, coming from a common-law country makes it easier, if coming from civil-law countries it's even more difficult. Are you at least coming from a common-law country? 4. The most important factor for LLMs is previous experience, do you have any experience at an international/well-known law firm? A friend who previosly worked at White&Case in his country had easy time getting into a decent law firm in Bay Area (who, by the way, also did an LLM in a school in Bay Area) It looks like you are wanting a lot without willing to make any sacrifice for it, such as getting loan for just a 1-year LLM degree. Here's the advice: either be ready to make sacrifices (such as getting an LLM or JD) or stop obsessing about "decent" law firms and start with no-name law firms instead (even that might not be easy). Otherwise, why on earth would a "decent" law firm sponsors YOU while there are many Americans (or US-educated foreigners) who can do the job better than you (as law is very country specific)?
Damn, is it still that rough out there for JD’s? I was licensed in 2011 and it was brutal (I’ve since moved into being a SWE). Is it still that bad?
Same background, found it much easier to find jobs in tech companies here
I feel that too that in house roles are easier to find. But in this current economy, finding hard to get in house roles as well. I wonder if people without law firm experience in the US will be disadvantaged from the rest in the long run
Well in a tech company, especially FAANG and others which have international operations and scope, there is a lot of work in the legal space that may not need law firm experience. But yes, to be a counsel you will need law firm experience in USA for sure. But even in a non-counsel legal role, there is scope to grow. Not as much as tech roles.. but the the work is very interesting and the pay is not bad. Plus wlb and job security is better compared to law firms if you don't have a degree from the USA