Why there is status in working in New York

As an Australian lawyer, getting a job in New York is not easy. Unlike the Kangaroo route of Australia to London, moving to New York is not a well worn path for Australian lawyers. Just getting into NY as a foreign lawyer is a great achievement and for those that are able to there is undoubtedly status attached. But why?

The premier firms or the "White Shoe" firms have very stringent selection criteria which are more exacting than firms in other centres. The fact that entry to NY is barred to all but a few elite lawyers means that securing a job over there automatically gives you platinum membership to a world of status and privilege.

For a start it means in most cases that you access the Cravath scale of salary and bonuses. Currently first year lawyers at a top firm earn US $180 000 plus bonus, second year lawyers get US$ 190 000, third year lawyers US$ 210k and this continues on a lockstep basis.

NY gives you access to clients and deals / matters that other lawyers can only read about in the global financial press. Having these deals on your resume will be a career accelerator as they are deals that rarely are seen in your home market. Getting this experience at a non partner level will put you years ahead of your peers.

You will be looked up to not only by your colleagues at home but also by other NY lawyers who have struggled to access the white shoe world. 

Just as importantly, having NY on your cv makes you stand out as an International lawyer if and when you decide to return home. It tells potential employers that you got into this elite world and there is a presumption that you are something special. 

If you stay in NY for 2 years or more there is an assumption that "you made it and survived" in a tough environment where the pressures of the world's biggest deals and most demanding clients mean you have been able to deal with some of the more extremes of hours and client pressures. You have what it takes to work successfully when the going gets tough, which it can as a top tier lawyer in any jurisdiction. You survived NY, you will survive a deal team in Australia no matter what. 

The interesting thing these days is that as more and more work is flowing from the US into Australia and referred to our top tier firms, your attraction back home in Australia is augmented if you are returning from NY or California. If you have made good connections in the US then you have a good chance of attracting those US mandates which come into our firms. I worked with a junior partner recently from a top NY firm who was an Australian returning home to Sydney. He was offered partnership in two firms in Sydney based on his ability to attract referral work from US law firms and because his core skills were seen to be cutting edge with him having spent a number of years in NY. To put this into context it is normally very difficult to move internationally as a partner as it's typically hard to transfer practices cross border and to have a portable book of business, which is usually what's required to make a lateral move as a partner.

The NY market is not always "open" to international lawyers. Now is one of those windows when it is. Economic and market factors and a lack of top tier lawyers (especially at mid levels) moving around within the US means that top tier NY firms are open to Australian talent. Added to this is the special visa rights for Australian nationals. Right now we can work in NY under an E3 visa which importantly British nationals working in the more prestigious City of London practices can't get. This means that you are not currently competing for roles with the top tier British lawyers sitting in Allen & Overy, Freshfields or Clifford Chance etc in London. If you are a top tier Australian lawyer, I would make the most of this time and give your CV a protein boost by putting a white shoe firm at the top. 

David Nicol | Consultant | Marsden Legal Search & Recruitment

Level 4, 503 Kent Street | Sydney | NSW | 2000 Australia 

Tel: +61 2 8014 9059

Dubai | London | Sydney | Toronto

Website: www.marsdengroup.com