Hi everyone, apologies for the long post but it’s needed context to better understand my dilemma!
Newly qualified lawyer here (coming up to 1 year PQE) working at a regional firm in a relatively good practice area.
I’m doing well, like the people, and the lifestyle is honestly great. Nobody micromanages when I come in/leave, work is steady, and overall it’s low stress. My main issue is that I’m based in a satellite office, so I’m pretty far removed from the partners/team and sometimes feel disconnected professionally.
I’ve also been accepted into an top master’s program for next summer (think YLS, HLS etc). (Important context: in my region, this degree is actually considered a somewhat of a requirement and can significantly impact long-term prospects), especially for international law firm opportunities.
At the same time, I recently got an offer from an international firm. I met the partners, liked them a lot, and I’d be working directly with a partner in the same office on genuinely interesting matters. Compensation is slightly better than my current firm. The only thing that rubbed me the wrong way is that they negotiated me down slightly (less than $1k/month below what I asked for). Rationally, I know that’s not a huge gap, but emotionally it made me wonder whether I’m ignoring potential red flags.
My dilemma is basically:
- Go do the master’s next summer and leave my current role.
- Join the international firm, save money/get the experience, then defer the master’s by a year or two.
- Stay at my current firm and see if they’d allow study leave/remote work during the degree.
Part of me worries the international opportunity is rare in the current market. Another part of me worries delaying the master’s could hurt momentum long term.
Would appreciate any thoughts regarding the above. Also, am I overthinking it by viewing it as a potential red flag that they weren’t willing to meet my requested compensation when the gap was relatively small (around $1k/month)? Part of me feels that if they really wanted me, the difference was marginal enough to close easily, but maybe this is just standard negotiation and I’m reading too much into it.
Many thanks in advance!