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What big law firms are known to be supportive for frum jews? Work family balance, shabbos observance, yomim tovim etc.
Wow jwashing, you seem to be very ambitious. Every other post you start deals with going to law school, med schools, careers, law firms, LSAT, etc…
I wish you the best of luck, hatzlacha, in everything!
I don’t know of all the big law firms, but I will say that work/family balance is probably very tough for young associates. I don’t believe you can be discriminated against for keeping Shabbos and Yom Tov, but you have to make up the work later to get those billable hours.
Also, unless you have pull, you would need to go to a top law school and get top grades to go to the biggest firms.
I’ve heard Wachtell Lipton is a good law firm. Probably if they’re good they must treat their employees well.
I believe you will find that most frum lawyers end up working for small firms, as solo practitioners (which is a small firm with only one partner), or for the government.
While “Big law” is open to frum Jews, it is hard to land a job there (one needs excellent credentials and it helps to have the right social credentials and by definition if you are frum you don’t have the right social credentials). One should note that it appears that “Big law” (the large corporate law firms such as “Dewey Ballantine” a.k.a. “Dewey LeBoeuf”) are having problems, and one might suggest that planning a career in the hope of working for “big law” may be dubious choice.
PBA: And in case the names Wachtell and Lipton were ambiguous, (they’re Jewish) the other two name partners are Rosen and Katz.
Akuperma, I disagree with each of the points made in your post. 1. There are hundreds of frum lawyers working at the “top 20” law firms.At 90% of these firms there is no discrimination against frum jews. ( perhaps the only exeption is where the applicant has a beard or payos).
2. dewey lebouf is having more than “problems”. they shut down, fired all their employees and filed for bankruptcy over 6 months ago.
3. However, to extrapolate to other firms is wrong.in the last 20 years the only similar case was Finley kumble, in the 90’s (and at a smaller scale, Heller Erman.) The other large firms are still paying incredible starting salaries with 30-40k in raises each year.Also,whereas in the past if you didnt make partner after 7 years you were out the door, now they have sr. associate positions paying about $500k. I’d say the risk of any large law firm closing down is less than 1%.The only reason going to a big firm may be a “dubious” choice is because,in most cases ,you will work till 10 every night leaving very little time for the other things in life we hold dear.
As a percentage of all Shomer Shabbos lawyers, those in “Big Law” are a distinct minority. Anyone who incurs several hundred thousand dollars of debts (that aren’t dischargeable in bankruptcy) to go to law school in the belief that he is guaranteed making partner at a “Big Law” firm is probably making a big mistake. And remember that most frum lawyer wannabees are likely to be married before starting law school (on the other hand, if someone is single, can live at home, and has parents who can pay $50K tuition – their only costg is the opportunity cost so it isn’t a bad deal). If someone goes to law school considering it most likely they’ll join the number of lawyers serving the “99%”, either in a government agency or a small firm, they will make better choices (and probably would decide that a non-fancy law school with a large scholarship is better than an Ivy and owing a quarter million on graduation).
As a percetage of ALL lawyers those in big law are a distinct minority. Considering that frum yiden make up less than 1% of the U.S. population , they are in fact overrepresented in the big firms.Getting into columbia or n.y.u essentially assures you one of those jobs(if you want it). Any other school and i’d agree – go for the scolership and try to make law review.
An Ivy degree guarantees a good shot at a job in “Big Law” – and remember getting hired only means you’ll have a shot at making partner. In judging whether frum Jews are overrepresented, it’s important to remembet that “Big law” is concentrated in New York as are frum Jews. Going to Columbia or NYU, paying full tuition, and support a wife and kids (meaning borrowing the money to pay tuition and keey your family alive) is an awful big gamble.
To be a lawyer in Brooklyn, go for clinics rather than law reviews, and assume you’ll need to be able find the courthouse on your first day at work (unlike the elites who are hired as overpaid apprentices).
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