Your Law Firm Wish List During the Job Hunt

We've spent a lot of time talking about Law School Rankings and how those might need to be updated to better reflect schools' actual placement success.  The other rankings that some of you may be looking at now include the various Law Firm Rankings.  We include them in many forms on the Lexis Hub, based on:

Best Law Firms by Practice Area

Quality of Life

Region, Location Rankings

You may ask yourself-how picky can I be during this tight job market?  You may also wonder if someone else's "vote" for a firm is based on the same criteria that you are seeking. 

The Legal Intelligencer actually recommends NOT relying too heavily on the rankings when making your choice, even though we are somewhat "trained" to put a great deal of stock in such rankings.  After all, we did it when choosing our undergraduate university, we looked to ratings again when selecting a law school.  Why not do the same when preparing to interview or look for another career opportunity? 

"Law firm rankings, although valuable in some contexts, are too often seen as the end-all list for job seekers, or lawyers looking for a career move. But just as you searched for a college or law school based on criteria and values specific to you, it is vital that you search for firms that are equally suited to you and your goals. If those firms happen to rank highly in the eyes of legal organizations and publications, consider it the cherry on top rather than the deciding factor."  -The Legal Intelligencer

Rankings can still be a useful tool and will provide you with information you won't get directly from the firms. It makes sense to make a list of your own specific job wants and needs then use the rankings to find the firms that have good track records in those areas.  What you may not be able to discern in an interview-information about office culture, after-hours time demands and rapport between new attorneys, staff and partners, may be found to some extent in the quality of life rankings.  There are also valuable insights within the ranking explanations that will give you a feel for how long you might have to remain in a supporting role before getting the opportunity to do your own trials or arbitrations.  The Intelligencer acknowledges the value of rankings for providing a general framework for understanding the legal climate in particular cities.  But as we all know, the hiring world is much different now, so be prepared to make some compromises.

Sources:

Vault.com

The Legal Intelligencer