How soon is too soon to bail on BigLaw? Forum

[Anonymous User]

There is a common saying that you get one free pass in biglaw. Its understood that a firm may just be a bad fit, that you may not be getting the kind of work you want, etc. and that a change at any point could possibly make sense. But you only get that one switch before you look like a serial jumper. Wherever you go after a quick switch, you need to stay for a few years.

So bottom line is that its okay to switch early if its really not a good fit for whatever reason. But make sure you are making the right choice, because you will need to live with it for awhile.

Is this credited?

[TheHill5]

This sounds EXACTLY how my experience went down. I last almost 2 years before I GTFO.

I think the only time it's "too soon" to bail on BigLaw is if you don't have another employment option that you'd prefer. It may take a few months in the firm to start to get a feel for what firm life is like at an associate level, but after that period I think you know what you're in for. If you'd rather be working in something else and have the means to do so, the time to leave is right now. No point in wasting any more time unless you are beholden to the paycheck.

I quit a few months ago after I'd put in a bit over a year as a new associate at a big firm in a big market. I didn't despise it but I also didn't like it and thought I'd be happier in a different field. I also battled feelings of leaving "too soon" but realized I was chasing sunk costs and cut the cord. Each day that passes, I'm happier with my decision.

If anyone wants to know more, let me know, happy to answer questions. I don't think I'm remarkable enough to open my own thread about this, but I've gotten a lot of questions about this in real life and thought it could be helpful.

Thanks, I would definitely appreciate hearing more about your story. Did you not have a big debt load to worry about when you left? Did you have a new job lined up? How did people in your group react to you leaving (just curious)?

Can definitely relate to the "don't despite it but don't necessarily like it" mentality.

Sure, my debt load fortunately was extremely low by the time I decided to pack it up, so the paycheck wasn't a major concern. No kids or other major obligations either. If my debt load were larger, I would've stayed until it was almost entirely paid off. I think some people lose track of how ridiculously good of an opportunity it is to make >$200k (more than 98% or 99% of the US) if you have debt. I just realized that I'd be comfortable making anything north of $80k, so once the debt was gone I was able to focus much more on what I thought would make me happy.

I had another job lined up by the time I put in my resignation notice and was prepared to leave that very day if they didn't want me around anymore. I personally think it's a really bad decision under ordinary circumstances to leave without your new job 100% locked in.

Turns out that virtually everyone was nothing but cordial to me when I shared the news, even excited for me to explore a new opportunity. A few of the attorneys I worked the most with seemed a little bummed out but not too bad. My group was very large, though, so I'm sure it took no time at all to move on without me. I was also mediocre at best in my work with a majority of the attorneys so I doubt they felt like they were losing much. The harder goodbyes were actually with various support staff and other young associates I had gotten closer with--I never really had the opportunity to get close with any partners despite my efforts early on.

The hardest part of the whole experience for me was a feeling that I was making the wrong decision because I was swimming against the current in leaving so early (I also switched industries). It would've been easier to ignore my personal agency in the matter and just continue along that career path, but I couldn't accept the high likelihood of being in the office late night 5 years from now, ordering Seamless from that same Thai place, working on another deal that I just don't care about, making all this money that I don't even need.

[Anonymous User]

You've been there too long already.

Yea a guy who started after a clerkship in October, quit at the end of december in my group.

What's he doing now?

If I do want to clerk, but don't want to do biglaw, what's the best way for me to cash out a 50k bonus in three months? Is there a list of firms I can sucker like this?