Relocating in 2020 Post-Bonus
It's the start of the New Year. You've had your end-of-year review with your law firm. You've received your bonus(es) for your hard work in 2019. You may be thinking, "Is it time for me to seriously consider my long-term plan to relocate?" If you are working at a BigLaw firm, now is definitely a good time to consider a relocation plan.
In my discussions with BigLaw associates over the years, I've found that the decision itself to make a move can take some time. You might realize that you need a change for personal reasons, advancement, training, type of work, etc., but like anyone considering a job change you are concerned that the "grass may not be greener on the other side." (As you go through this process, take a look at my article called "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" that I wrote for Chambers Associate's Career Moves Guide.)
But if geographic relocation is also on the table in 2020 (in addition to a general job change), here are some important things to think about:
If you are considering law firms, start the search sooner than later given the "bonus clock". Most BigLaw firms use the annual year for counting billable hours for the purpose of your annual bonus and any special bonus. If you are at a law firm now where you just received your bonus for last year, it makes sense financially to consider your move sooner than later as the clock for 2020 billable hour has likely also begun at your potential new employer. NOTE: When you move later in the year, there are some law firms that will pay a signing bonus to a new candidate to help make them whole for any lost bonus at their departing firm. But this is not guaranteed and there is wide variation in the firms that will offer this incentive.
If your priority is an in-house position, consider relocating to another law firm as a bridge. When you are a mid-level associate, you might have already started to think about in-house positions at your next step. "Why make a move to another law firm if my ultimate goal is to work as an internal corporate lawyer?" The answer is simple: Most in-house positions go to lawyers that are already in the local market. (Using data from Firm Prospects, I did a deeper analysis on this last year which you can see here.) Take the Boston market for example. The largest company employers in that market for in-house legal positions are in financial services and life sciences. Think Fidelity, Bain Capital, State Street Bank and numerous small and large biopharm companies (Vertex, Novartis, etc.). For their outside counsel, these companies almost exclusively rely on attorneys in the BigLaw firm offices that are local: Ropes & Gray, Goodwin, WilmerHale, Kirkland, etc. While most of these law firms are national (or international) in scope, it is still largely the case that the local office services the local company. As a result, many in-house positions don't even get posted (or, if they do, get posted with a strong front runner in mind) because there is a locally-based outside counsel attorney that is interested and proves to be the perfect fit.
Relocation packages can vary quite a bit between employers (and even for openings within employers). Moving expenses. Bar expenses. Special housing assistance. There is a good amount of variety in how a law firm employer will pay for relocation if you are extended an offer. (This variation is even greater among in-house employers, including the possibility of no relocation assistance at all.) Most of the time, you won't get full details until you get an offer, so it will be up to you and your recruiter to work with the potential employer on what is possible.
Start researching bar admission requirements for your new market. With the growth of the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) and the ability to be admitted by motion for experienced attorneys, there are some good options for getting admitted to the state bar in your new location without having to retake a bar examination. But these options vary considerably state-by-state, particularly when it comes to years. "How many years is the UBE valid for a new state?" "How many years from date of admission of your current bar do you need to be considered for admission by motion in a new state?" The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBEX) website offers very good information on this. But this should not be relied on exclusively. If something is unclear on a website about bar admission, you must call the individual state board of bar examiners office directly to clarify. Most legal employers will want you to be admitted in their state, even if they are not explicit about it. And some employers and positions will provide you with time and money to take it (particularly busy practices at BigLaw firms). Ultimately, it will be important to talk with your recruiter on strategy.