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An attorney recently mentioned the differences in exit opportunities for those who go into the corporate departments of firms versus litigation. I'm curious about what people have seen in their experience regarding exit opportunities. For example, I think I'm more interested in litigation, but I'd love to work in-house at a corporation eventually. Is that possible coming from a litigation background at a firm? More possible at a top firm?

Based on what the attorney said, it seemed like litigation associates go into government, midsize firms, litigation boutiques, etc. Anyone know differently? Thanks!

viking138 wrote:An attorney recently mentioned the differences in exit opportunities for those who go into the corporate departments of firms versus litigation. I'm curious about what people have seen in their experience regarding exit opportunities. For example, I think I'm more interested in litigation, but I'd love to work in-house at a corporation eventually. Is that possible coming from a litigation background at a firm? More possible at a top firm?

Based on what the attorney said, it seemed like litigation associates go into government, midsize firms, litigation boutiques, etc. Anyone know differently? Thanks!

In-house positions tend to skew heavily towards former corporate associates (and related practices like tax), rather than litigation.

That said, it's certainly not impossible to go in-house as a litigator.

There are in-house litigation positions, but they are someone less common.

imchuckbass58 wrote:

viking138 wrote:An attorney recently mentioned the differences in exit opportunities for those who go into the corporate departments of firms versus litigation. I'm curious about what people have seen in their experience regarding exit opportunities. For example, I think I'm more interested in litigation, but I'd love to work in-house at a corporation eventually. Is that possible coming from a litigation background at a firm? More possible at a top firm?

Based on what the attorney said, it seemed like litigation associates go into government, midsize firms, litigation boutiques, etc. Anyone know differently? Thanks!

In-house positions tend to skew heavily towards former corporate associates (and related practices like tax), rather than litigation.

That said, it's certainly not impossible to go in-house as a litigator.

Thanks! From what you've seen, does it seem like there are things litigation associates can do to maximize their marketability to corporations?

viking138 wrote:

imchuckbass58 wrote:

viking138 wrote:An attorney recently mentioned the differences in exit opportunities for those who go into the corporate departments of firms versus litigation. I'm curious about what people have seen in their experience regarding exit opportunities. For example, I think I'm more interested in litigation, but I'd love to work in-house at a corporation eventually. Is that possible coming from a litigation background at a firm? More possible at a top firm?

Based on what the attorney said, it seemed like litigation associates go into government, midsize firms, litigation boutiques, etc. Anyone know differently? Thanks!

In-house positions tend to skew heavily towards former corporate associates (and related practices like tax), rather than litigation.

That said, it's certainly not impossible to go in-house as a litigator.

Thanks! From what you've seen, does it seem like there are things litigation associates can do to maximize their marketability to corporations?

Do some transactional work and/or do something that expresses an interest in it. This is assuming you are a litigator and want to do corporate work in-house. You can do this by doing some pro-bono work which involves transactional stuff, attend a seminar or whatnot which focuses on corporate work, and express your desire to switch up your practice area. You really have to show you know what you are doing/have experience doing corporate work because when you go in-house they do not want to spend time training you. Most corporations only take people from firms because they want people who can hit the ground running.

I don't really know much about how to be an in-house litigator so I'll leave that to someone more knowledgeable.

viking138 wrote:
Thanks! From what you've seen, does it seem like there are things litigation associates can do to maximize their marketability to corporations?

I feel like it depends on the corporation. As a general rule, you want to do the type of work that the company has a big need for. So if you want to work for a pharma company, you probably want to do lots of products liability. If you want to work for a bank, you probably either want to do bank regulatory work or securities. If you want to work for a biotech company, you probably want to do patent litigation. If you want to work for a media organization, do First Amendment and soft IP.