Articling Rotations- Suggestions

[goonersfc]

I am due to begin my articling very soon and as almost every other biglaw firm, my firm has asked me to indicate my preference with respect to the sequence of my rotations (i.e. litigation first, transactional work second or vice versa). Now, I am fairly certain that I want to work in litigation post articling. How would you suggest I go about the sequence. And also does it really matter?

[QMT20]

The general advice is to put the group you'd like to be hired back into as your first rotation. 

At some firms, although there's a formal rotation system, you'll be spending all year doing work with the group you want to be hired back into. It's good to have that group first so you make connections right at the start of articling and have the full 10-months to develop relationships and get staffed on files. 

At other firms, I've heard the the rotation system is more rigid. You'd actually be expected to work exclusively in the group you're rotating in when you're in that rotation. I'm not sure what the benefit is to having the group you want to be hired back into first as opposed to second if that's the system your firm has. However, you definitely wouldn't want the the group you want to be hired back into to be last. If the group you want to be hired into is your last rotation, you may find hire-back decisions for students are made before you've had enough time to make an impression on that group.