What a rubbish analogy. So the US firm offering the full scholarship is Hull then?

I think a better analogy would be if a kid was looking to qualify as a solicitor in London and had to choose between a BA from Harvard/Yale on full scholarship (US firm) or a BA in Law from Oxford (UK Magic Circle). Both equally prestigious and will get you where you need to get to. However one will be more comfortable for a British born and raised youngster and will better prepare you for the role after 3 years, but the other could be life changing and will expose you to things at high level that you otherwise may not experience. Even that doesn’t sit perfectly but probably more accurate than your rubbish.

It’s a relic of the time when even the biggest US firms had only 50-100 people in London, whereas now K&E has over 400 and I expect LW has more than that.

For the firms you listed, I wouldn’t put Skadden in the same bracket as K&E, LW and Weil. Skadden’s London strategy hasn’t succeeded over the last 15 years and their reliance on Russian clients is obviously not a winner for the foreseeable future.

If you think you want to be a transactional lawyer working in PE, finance, restructuring or funds, you’re likely better off at a US firm. If you want to be a litigator or advisory lawyer, MC is probably still a better bet.

There’s really no reason not to train at an MC firm if you can. US firms’ mid level associates are disproportionately MC/SC laterals because they’ve had the best training. As for money – really the only reason to go to a US firm – you have more than enough money as a MC NQ and can always move later.

It’s much like university – you wouldn’t go to Hull over Oxford just because Hull gave you a scholarship. So why would you get yourself sub standard training in the profession you want to do for the rest of your life just for a bit more money in your early twenties?

If the lateral market dries up that rather suggests the whole market has dried up – I’m not saying MC is an absolute safe job in that scenario (see ‘08-09) but I would fancy my chances much more there than at a US firm. The US London market has absolutely exploded since the last financial crisis, I would bet decent money they will shed lawyers like crazy when the next one rolls around.

@klaxon there is nothing ‘fresher’ about this. Seems like a student (who is clearly very able having secured two offers) and is genuinely curious.

People like you (who probably actually are freshers) are what ruin this website’s comments section – spamming ‘okay fresher’ to absolutely everything and pretending to be equity partners at K&E.

I would go to MC just for the quality of training and the breadth of practice areas – you may find you like an area of law that you would not have had the opportunity to qualify into at a US firm

If the lateral market dries up completely that would mean we are in a full blown recession and you have just as much change of not being retained by that US firm or sacked as an associate. Even then you could qualify into an area like R&I that is recession proof and would have high lateral demand in a counter-cycle.

Bless your heart fresher, so eager, so naive.

U.S firms wont take market share of the lower value more niche areas. They will only take market share of high value, mainly finance / corporate related work. If you are happy to operate within the sub categories of those areas, go U.S. If you are totally clueless on what area you might like then go MC

What is a Pinsent Mason? Can you help install an Italian marble floor in my Chelsea townhouse?

Thanks for your response. It’s one of the more well-established US shops in the U.K., so not one of those that has an intake of 2/3 trainees.

Think along the lines of KE/Weil/Latham/Skadden. I am still unsure of what I want in the future, so perhaps MC is the better option. But given that US firms are gaining market share like crazy, by the time I qualify as an NQ would they not have reached MC level (or near it) anyway?

depends who the “elite” US firm is. and what area you want to qualify into. MC gives more options for the future (moving in house, moving to a us firm, moving to a uk firm, boutique). US will give you the ability to bounce between US shops for eternity.

Okay little guy.