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While B&F has decent exit options to banks for better WLB, the work hours and the brain dead work of revising templatised work in law firms is not worth spending 10-12 hours a day in office 6 days a week. But when you work in an environment like that for 6 days, you start normalising it just because the job pays you slightly above market. In fact, you might even feel proud because your peers in law firms may appreciate you. When you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.
Some might say there is interesting structuring work in DCM and banking, but that is post 5-7+ years PQE and definitely not at associate level. If you are a hard worker, who is afraid of taking risks and can put your head down and work for long hours, banking might be a good fit. If you are someone who is smart and who wants to do interesting work, you will realise there are better things to do in life
See if you can find an inhouse that pays well (FinTechs have been very good paymasters of late for B&F lawyers), life will definitely be better there in most aspects.
Any decent tiered law firm with a banking practice is bound to be ruthless at some point on account of the lower fees you generally make in banking mandates. Which means you have to complete a lot of deals to justify the costs at the Firm. I really hope you find a place that fulfills your criteria (which from a logical lens is not unreasonable at all), but banking as a practice area is doomed, and will continue to be so in the near future. Even if someone does manage to shake things up a bit and try and improve the filth, the clan will eventually drag him/her down and force him to and make his team slog.
When you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.
I don't get why comments here are so salty when asked about a "best partner" to work with? I know it's near to impossible to meet all requirements above. But I expect to help out your brother and tell me some partner who can be nearer to the above-mentioned culture and work.
8 pm?
Dynamic all rounder team?
Something tells me you're an intern.
1. Is the "experience in DCM" something you did as part of the system of "seats" that the British have as part of their training contract process? I.e., was DCM one of your seats?
2. The unrealistic expectations (in the context of Indian and, for that matter, U.S., biglaw) re: WLB suggest potentially magic circle background?
Dynamic team me bhi kaam karna hai, DCM ke alawa bhi apna naam karna hai,
Umr bhar Associate yahi bhool karta raha,
WLB In house me tha, aur wo law firm ek pyaari dhundhta raha.
My priorities are work life balance. By this I mean to leave office by 8 pm, 10 pm once in a while and have Saturdays and Sundays fully to me, except occassionally when deliverables are due.
I also aim for a dynamic team - team that is not too niche in B&F and also do some corporate advisory, so that I'm not stuck to the niche.
I have experience in DCM and don't want to limit myself to it. Following are the few partners that I have identified to be fitting to above criteria, please share your insights on them as well as any other partner -
1. Karan Mitroo
2. Simone Reis
3. Satsdru Goswami
4. Arun Kumar
5. Aditya Khadria
Please consider contributing here as I belive you to be best people to give real and unfiltered advice.
Thank you