<p>I am a junior in undergrad business school and am considering taking the LSATS and going to law school. I want to get into corporate law because obviously business interests me just as much as law does. I am wondering what range of hours corporate lawyers outside of New York work and what kind of job prospects and salaries they have to look forward to. I am from Washington and want to stay in the Seattle area both for law school and for future job hunting. Do those in corporate law outside of NYC still work the insane amount of hours that I hear that the ones in NYC work?</p>
<p>If you're looking to stay in Seattle, you won't find the salary of New York Corporate Law (BIGLAW, i.e. Vault 1-10 firms) any where even close to what you'll be making. NY BigLaw first year associates makes about 160K, before bonuses, and depending on which firm you work for, you could make up to 300K your first year out of law school. Of course, Wachtell, the top firm in NY, which usually compensates its associates with huge bonuses (50-150% of base), overworks their associates, as they bill ~2200-2300 hours per year. That amounts to 70-80 hours per week. Typically, "second tier markets", such as Houston, DC, LA, Silicon Valley (anything but NYC), have much better hours, but, of course, it all depends on the firm. I know that Weil in Houston overworks their employees, but BB only makes their employees work about 55-65 hours per week. Of course, the compensation for first years, exit options, and further advancement are much better in NYC than in smaller markets.</p>
<p>For the most part though, I think that you'll find the hours much better in any city for BIGLAW outside of New York. I don't really know much about Seattle, but I've heard that compensation there is about 25-50% less than NYC, but the hours aren't THAT much worse (about 50-60 hpw in Seattle). </p>
<p>The bad thing about corporate law is that advancing in law, making partner, means "more pie". Hours usually get worse in law, not better.</p>
<p>If you're interested in business, and you're SOL if you're worried about the number of hours you'll be working per week, especially if you're doing IB in NYC (which seems to be the normal aim for UG students in this thread. IB in NYC, in my opinion, is one of the best ways that one can garner work experience in the world of corporate finance. Sadly though, your first three years as an IBanking analyst at a BB in Wall Street are absolute hell. You can expect 75-95 hour weeks to be the norm, but compensation here is good too. For the past several years, first year analysts have made 100-125K, 2nd years 125-175, and first year associates have made somewhere around 250-350k. What I like about finance and IB, PE, and HF is that as you advance, you will work less hours and get an even greater compensation. </p>
<p>What has stuck out in my mind, as I'm deciding between law and Wall Street as well, is that I've heard that Wall Street Bankers and Wall Street Lawyers essentially do the same thing, but most give a slight edge in interest of work to bankers. </p>
<p>Of course, that's only if you're working in NY. You really can't find a solid IB career outside of NY, although there are some exceptions.</p>
<p>Sorry I've gotten off topic a bit. </p>
<p>If you're from Washington and want to stay in Seattle, the hours aren't THAT bad. I'm sure that many people will tell you that hours for corporate law are "terrible", but in all reality, they're not (IMO). A 55 hour week is a bit on the heavy side, which amounts to about 11 hours a day for 5 days (8-7) or 9 hours a day for 6 days (9-6). I think that you'll find law in Seattle much more promising than finance in Seattle.</p>