If you're "not worried about the money" then go for it! 2100 hours is crazy. You'd have no life. That just blows. Even 2000 is bad enough - and regardless of what the minimum is, a big firm is always looking to reward people who go above the minimum. The competition is stiff, politics can get ugly, etc.

Worked for a big firm for a while. Blech! (Not that I'm jaded or anything... )

And "having" to go to the VI every once in a while sounds like rough duty!

Good luck. These changes and decisions are stressful, but they can be exciting and open op a whole new world for you. (At least that's what I keep telling myself as I try to discard the last shackles of my partnership.)