Law jobs in NYC or on LI?

Hi everyone -- I'm new to LIF (but post regularly on LIW -- I tie the knot in Aug!)

Anyway, I'm a second year law student and I'm trying to figure out what I want to do career-wise. I'm at a top 20 school on a full scholarship, so I'm lucky that I don't have to choose a job solely to pay off mountains of loans.

If you know anything about law jobs on LI or in the city (particularly at big firms) please comment or FM me. Are the hours really as bad as they say? Do smaller NYC firms who pay market really have better hours or are they just lying? What do non-NALP LI firms pay? Is it worth it to work those hours? Can you have a life? If I was to take a big firm job outside of NY is it really hard to lateral to a smaller NY firm down the road?

I'm trying to decide which route to take... Any comments are welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Re: Law jobs in NYC or on LI?

I'm at my big NYC firm almost 2 years. Feel free to FM me with specific questions.

Did you go through your regular on-campus recruiting / on-campus interviews? Many of the big firms have already put offers out for the summer. I know mine has, though that does not mean they wouldn't consider an application now. (I got my job out of the regular recruiting cycle, but I was graduating early)

Feel free to FM with specific questions.

BTW - do you know what area of law you want to practice? That can greatly affect quality of life and predictibility of hours at a big firm. I'm in litigation and I at least find my hours predictable. Yes, I work a lot, but it IS manageable and I DO still have a life.

Best of luck to you.

Re: Law jobs in NYC or on LI?

I went through OCI at my school and got offers from a big firm here (where I worked as a 1L), a smaller NYC firm that pays market, and some of the bigger NYC firms. I heard that a lot of LI firms dont even start interviewing until after the Dec 1 deadline so I'm hesitant to give up the options I have now to try for one of those. (I had an offer from a medium-sized LI firm last summer but ended up going with the big firm in the city where I go to law school).

I will FM you with more info. Thanks for replying

Re: Law jobs in NYC or on LI?

I worked at a mid-sized "qualify of life" firm in NYC for 2 years. Feel free to FM me.

Re: Law jobs in NYC or on LI?

I work on LI at a litigation firm with 12 attorneys. FM if you have questions.