ADA Exit Options Forum

[Tigerbait2015]

Currently at one of the biggest DA's in the country (think NY, Chicago, LA, Houston, etc.). Goal is to go into private practice to make more $. Would really like to do a stint in biglaw, but up until now all of my experience both in law school and after graduation has been in the public sector. I graduated 2015 and have been working here ever since, have a bunch of jury trials, some managerial experience, and some appellate brief writing experience. The big catch is I don't want to stay in my geographic market. Here are the options I've considered:

1) Lateral to small/mid-law and somehow get to big law
2) Do a fed clerkship and then get to big law in another market (maybe after a stop over in mid law? Not sure how this works)
3) Wait out several more years and try to go AUSA, then biglaw in white collar
4) ??

I realize it's a long shot either way, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to try and make it happen. FWIW, I put in more hours than most ADA's typically do. I go out of my way to take on extra trials, assignments from other divisions, etc., so even when I'm in low workload rotations I consistently maintain 60-70 hour weeks. It's not unusual for me to work 8-8 M-F and then at least a half day on the weekends, and I find this relatively manageable. I got into government work for the trials and the excitement, but I always wanted to be a lawyer and I've found that even in law school I could find myself interested in most areas of the law, even if they seem mundane to others. For example, for some weird reason my highest grade in law school was admin law.

In any event, any advice out there?

[Anonymous User]

Currently at one of the biggest DA's in the country (think NY, Chicago, LA, Houston, etc.). Goal is to go into private practice to make more $. Would really like to do a stint in biglaw, but up until now all of my experience both in law school and after graduation has been in the public sector. I graduated 2015 and have been working here ever since, have a bunch of jury trials, some managerial experience, and some appellate brief writing experience. The big catch is I don't want to stay in my geographic market. Here are the options I've considered:

1) Lateral to small/mid-law and somehow get to big law
2) Do a fed clerkship and then get to big law in another market (maybe after a stop over in mid law? Not sure how this works)
3) Wait out several more years and try to go AUSA, then biglaw in white collar
4) ??

I realize it's a long shot either way, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to try and make it happen. FWIW, I put in more hours than most ADA's typically do. I go out of my way to take on extra trials, assignments from other divisions, etc., so even when I'm in low workload rotations I consistently maintain 60-70 hour weeks. It's not unusual for me to work 8-8 M-F and then at least a half day on the weekends, and I find this relatively manageable. I got into government work for the trials and the excitement, but I always wanted to be a lawyer and I've found that even in law school I could find myself interested in most areas of the law, even if they seem mundane to others. For example, for some weird reason my highest grade in law school was admin law.

In any event, any advice out there?

I made this jump from ada, but I fedclerked when I got out. I was actually inspired by people who adaed then fedclerked and lined up biglaw while they were clerking. Allegedly, it’s much easier to do from that...but still difficult regardless.

So I would recommend clerking and then applying. It’ll also be a quicker road than going to medium firm first, and more prestigious.

[Anonymous User]

I appreciate the reply, very helpful. A couple of follow ups.

1) how long were you at the DA before you applied to fed clerkships?
2) did you clerk in the same district you went biglaw? Was it the same district you worked as an ADA?
3) any general advice? Was there any particular part of your experience as an ADA that was a helpful selling point? I’ll be in it for a least a little while longer so if I can make myself more marketable I’d love to know how
4) any experience that would make you marketable over and above the usual ADA? I was top 1/3 from a T-50 with secondary journal and moot court, both coaching and participating
5) any roadblocks I should be aware of? What was your experience like applying to biglaw after clerkships? How much networking did you do?
6) anything else I can do to help my app?


I really appreciate it. It’s hard to find advice on such a specific topic so any words of wisdom you have would be helpful.

[Anonymous User]

I appreciate the reply, very helpful. A couple of follow ups.

1) how long were you at the DA before you applied to fed clerkships?
2) did you clerk in the same district you went biglaw? Was it the same district you worked as an ADA?
3) any general advice? Was there any particular part of your experience as an ADA that was a helpful selling point? I’ll be in it for a least a little while longer so if I can make myself more marketable I’d love to know how
4) any experience that would make you marketable over and above the usual ADA? I was top 1/3 from a T-50 with secondary journal and moot court, both coaching and participating
5) any roadblocks I should be aware of? What was your experience like applying to biglaw after clerkships? How much networking did you do?
6) anything else I can do to help my app?


I really appreciate it. It’s hard to find advice on such a specific topic so any words of wisdom you have would be helpful.

So my post may have been a bit ambiguous. I meant that I fedclerked when I got out of law school and pre-ada, but anecdotally, I know of one person who also recently lined up biglaw who did it in the other order. I believe what I did was more difficult than what we did.

I fedclerked, adaed and biglawed in same district.

I took on as many “paper” cases and appeals as I could as an ada. Resulted in a ton of extra work, but that’s how I sold myself to biglaw. It was still pretty difficult.

You might also consider going SSC before fedclerk. That’ll help a lot as well. Unfortunately I might be worried about school/stats. In a concern about sounding cocky, mine were somewhat better (although not much much better).

Network like crazy with partners who graduated your school. This will take time, but is ultimately how I got into biglaw.

Let me know if you have more questions.

[Anonymous User]

I was in a similar situation as you, OP. I worked as an ADA in one of those top 5 largest offices, etc. I graduated probably right at median, if not slightly below, at a school ranked between 18-25. I was not on journal or moot court. Almost all of my colleagues now work in insurance defense, so be weary of the draw to one of those firms for an immiedate salary boost. I went to a smaller firm that focused on an a particular area of law rather than general commercial lit. I spent a year there and then was able to lateral into biglaw. The salary bump at the small firm was marginal, probably $20-30K, but it paid off for the biglaw salary. I ended up hating the big firm life, though, and went into what this board considers “bigfed” less than a year after I started at the larger firm. Most of my colleagues balked at the fact that I’d take such a marginal pay boost and go work for a smaller firm when they all doubled their salaries at insurance firms and companies. Now I make more than all of them in my federal job, and saved a nice little chunk from my short time in biglaw.

A few things I realized:
1) recruiters are not helpful for someone coming from the DAs office;
2) knowing someone at a big firm will help tremendously and my former colleagues who had this kind of connection managed to go straight to a biglaw spot right away (one even works at a v30 firm);
3) I said it above, but stay a way from insurance defense firms/insurance companies, unless that’s what you want - you’ll get stuck there;
4) if you can get a federal clerkship, it will give you a significant leg up.

I found it to be an uphill battle, despite the promises of “great exit options” when I took the ADA job. That being said, it’s totally possible if you hustle and don’t give up. You might need to make a stop in the middle somewhere first before you land a big firm, but it’ll be worth it if that’s your end goal. I know I wouldn’t have my awesome federal job without having done that short stint in biglaw.

[Anonymous User]

Couple of things: you need to have had biglaw creds pre DA to make this happen. School + grades matter. Your DA stint is a knock, not a draw, in biglaw’s eyes (in contrast to the insurance defense suggestion above, where it would be a plus, or certain lit boutiques, where it could be neutral). There are plenty of kids coming out of top schools and clerkships who didn’t go this route whom they can hire and train as first-years, or laterals with relevant experience to hire as second- or third-years. (Having worked both as an ADA at one of the offices you refer to and in biglaw, I can tell you firsthand that there is literally no overlap between practicing as an ADA and a jr biglaw lit associate.) Top 1/3 from a T50 probably isn’t going to cut it, but perhaps others who’ve have made it with those stats can speak to it better. If you do make it happen, you’ll take a significant haircut in class year. You’d still make way more than you are now though, so I wouldn’t worry about that. The suggestion of an Art III clerkship is your best option, bar none, if biglaw is your goal. Do it ASAP if so.

Your remark regarding “ADA to AUSA to biglaw white collar $$$” as a potential path touches on a misconception that I and others have tried to disabuse our younger counterparts of on numerous occasions. AUSA may well be a good option for you—yes, they are competitive, but your ADA experience will be regarded far more favorably by USAO hiring committees than biglaw hiring partners, as the skill set overlaps to a much greater extent. But the notion that you’ll be able to walk easily from an AUSA gig into biglaw is misplaced. Much of what most USAOs do—even in “prestige” districts—is not relevant to biglaw. Corporate clients, and hence biglaw firms that service them, have little interest in AUSAs who have been doing guns & drugs—even if it’s some big international investigation where you’re running a Title III—because that’s not what their compliance and litigation issues entail. SEC/FCPA/FCA/ITAR-AECA investigations bear little resemblance to violent crime/narcotics cases, either in their complexity or the substantive knowledge they require, and biglaw firms for the most part are a lot less interested in hiring those who have mostly done the latter, even if they have a number of trials under their belt. The work’s just not the same. There are exceptions, but to walk in as counsel/NEP to a biglaw white collar practice these days, you have to do so (1) with directly relevant experience and (2) a business plan explaining how you’re going to leverage that experience and the contacts you developed during that experience into a book of business. Many—in fact, most—AUSAs don’t fit that bill, which is why many/most crim AUSAs who leave end up starting their own crim def shops or signing on with other small crim firms.

Not trying to discourage you, just trying to be realistic. If biglaw is your goal, I’d do a fed clerkship as soon as you can and bear in mind that, given your seniority and the choices you made to date, it still may not be an option. That said, aside from the paycheck, you’re not missing much.

As an aside, the successful (key distinction) solo crim def lawyers in NYC/Chicago/Houston still make a very good living. Some make much more than that. If you learn how to market, are as hard a worker as you suggest, and are willing to gamble on yourself, that could be your best bet to make some money.

[Anonymous User]

I was the first and fourth responder.

There’s been a lot of good advice on this thread already that I echo.

There’s no way I could have made my jump if I didn’t 1. Already have fedclerk credentials, 2. Fedclerk pre ada (and didn’t hurt to be in same district as Ada and biglaw), 3. Start trying to make the jump early—even starting the process after 2 years of Ada felt a year too late; if I waited an additional year I don’t think I could have done it, 4. Tailored my practice to get as many appeals and paper cases as I could, 5. Networked my ass off for an entire year, 6. Happen to be trying to do this when litigation was relatively quite hot in my district, 7. Have a ton of patience, and 8. Get extremely lucky (or so it feels that way).

To summarize, it’s doable with a fedclerkship but still a very long shot. Without a fedclerkship, it’ll be nearly impossible. And network, network, network.

Good luck. Let us know if you have more questions.