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Nagster5 · Post by **Nagster5** » Mon Aug 31, 2015 1:37 pm

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jbagelboy · Post by **jbagelboy** » Mon Aug 31, 2015 1:43 pm

Did you have biglaw credentials when you were a law student?

Rowinguy2009 · Post by **Rowinguy2009** » Mon Aug 31, 2015 1:50 pm

I think the conventional wisdom is that biglaw is generally not as willing to pickup former JAGs as certain government employers (DA/AUSA, etc.) are. That being said, I doubt that 7 years in JAG = absolutely no shot. Law school credentials will probably still matter some since JAG is so different from civilian practice. Frankly your age is probably going to be a bigger factor than anything.

Lots of people are very impressed by JAG/the military in general. Others less so. What markets do you have ties to? I could see a mid-biggish type firm being willing to pick up a former JAG, with the right credentials, if you are able to convince them that you want to stay long-term and would otherwise be a good fit.

zot1 · Post by **zot1** » Mon Aug 31, 2015 2:07 pm

Nagster5 wrote:Looking to have some light shed on my prospects at a job in biglaw coming out of a 15+ year career in the military, with 7+ in the JAG Corps. Would I be damaged goods with absolutly no shot? If not, what factors would weigh heavily on my chances? Any info is greatly appreciated.

I know at least one partner at a firm who was a former JAG. That said, it depends on your experience. He was AF and did lots of contracting, so the transition made sense.

If you only did military trials, then I would concentrate my search on a litigation heavy firm.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Mon Aug 31, 2015 3:08 pm

This biglaw associate is former JAG: http://www.seyfarth.com/AdamSmiley

Nagster5 · Post by **Nagster5** » Mon Aug 31, 2015 4:04 pm

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hoepner33 · Post by **hoepner33** » Mon Aug 31, 2015 4:40 pm

I am a current FLEP and I have had the same question myself. Most people in this forum (there are a few exceptions) have no real idea and are just guessing or giving group think.

Some things that I am relatively confident on:

(1) The best time to exit the JAG Corps for biglaw is probably at the end of your ADSO. O-3 time is when you are in the court room developing legitimate trial experience. You are actually being a lawyer. While opportunities for this still exist at the O-4 and up level, they are fewer as you are becoming more of a manager and administrator and thus less marketable to litigation jobs. This is something that I think someone interested in FLEP should be aware of.

(2) I can only speak to the Army, but junior JAGs have very different experiences. Depending on what court martials come through the docket at your first duty station will impact the quantity and complexity of your litigation experience. Furthermore some JAGs spend all their CPT time in the court room, others a minimal amount of time.

(3) Former JAGs do work in Biglaw. Go down the Vault list and google. I think you will find a couple of things. First, most are either doing White Collar Criminal Work, Government Contracting, or IP (because they have an engineering degree from an academy). There are some general litigation and employment people too. However, I have not seen anyone doing M&A work. Second, a large proportion of the people doing this went to T14 schools. Yes there were also many who did not. But most JAGs are not T14 grads. A lot of the former JAGs working in Big Law are. This really lends credence that having Big Law Credentials in the first place helps.

(4) I don't know how many JAGs get out wanting to do Big Law. You will be a lot older than the normal associate, and are in a different stage of life. I know the exist options are good for decent federal government work, something people from Big Law want to exit into.

Really the big thing is that if you go to a top school as a non-FLEP student, the easiest path is to get on the Big Law train and ride it. The train is huge, stops at your door, and is easy to get on. Plenty of people who don't go to law school wanting to do Big Law end up doing so because that is where the school pushes them. If you do JAG, you will have to go out and find the train if you want it.

PM me if you have any more questions. FLEP is obviously an amazing program financially, and I am exited about the work that I will be doing.

zot1 · Post by **zot1** » Mon Aug 31, 2015 5:02 pm

hoepner33 wrote:I am a current FLEP and I have had the same question myself. Most people in this forum (there are a few exceptions) have no real idea and are just guessing or giving group think.

Some things that I am relatively confident on:

(1) The best time to exit the JAG Corps for biglaw is probably at the end of your ADSO. O-3 time is when you are in the court room developing legitimate trial experience. You are actually being a lawyer. While opportunities for this still exist at the O-4 and up level, they are fewer as you are becoming more of a manager and administrator and thus less marketable to litigation jobs. This is something that I think someone interested in FLEP should be aware of.

(2) I can only speak to the Army, but junior JAGs have very different experiences. Depending on what court martials come through the docket at your first duty station will impact the quantity and complexity of your litigation experience. Furthermore some JAGs spend all their CPT time in the court room, others a minimal amount of time.

(3) Former JAGs do work in Biglaw. Go down the Vault list and google. I think you will find a couple of things. First, most are either doing White Collar Criminal Work, Government Contracting, or IP (because they have an engineering degree from an academy). There are some general litigation and employment people too. However, I have not seen anyone doing M&A work. Second, a large proportion of the people doing this went to T14 schools. Yes there were also many who did not. But most JAGs are not T14 grads. A lot of the former JAGs working in Big Law are. This really lends credence that having Big Law Credentials in the first place helps.

(4) I don't know how many JAGs get out wanting to do Big Law. You will be a lot older than the normal associate, and are in a different stage of life. I know the exist options are good for decent federal government work, something people from Big Law want to exit into.

Really the big thing is that if you go to a top school as a non-FLEP student, the easiest path is to get on the Big Law train and ride it. The train is huge, stops at your door, and is easy to get on. Plenty of people who don't go to law school wanting to do Big Law end up doing so because that is where the school pushes them. If you do JAG, you will have to go out and find the train if you want it.

PM me if you have any more questions. FLEP is obviously an amazing program financially, and I am exited about the work that I will be doing.

This is precisely why I qualified what I said with depends on experience. I know a junior navy jag that has only been place in admin duties and has not seen a courtroom in three years of service. AFJAG allows specializations in labor, contract, and other areas that could allow easy transitioning.

I think that depending on where OP is going to school, just going BigLaw might be better because at the end of the day, you don't get to pick where you go (think needs of the service). So you could end up in a terrible position with very little legal experience and translating that into a BigLaw job will be difficult.