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How easy is it for, say, a DAG to lateral to a firm? Any stigma? Any anecdotes?

bump. do gov lawyers have a hard time lateraling into private firms?

Anonymous User wrote:bump. do gov lawyers have a hard time lateraling into private firms?

No, this is a big reason why people like gov. work. There is a revolving door between the government and the private sector.

I would assume that your options might be limited by your position. A D.A. might be able to lateral into the white collar group at a large local firm, but they won't be able to lateral into a job in a corporate group in NY.

I think this is even more apparent with the regulatory groups in DC. The high level regulators often "retire" from service and become partners at large firms. The heads of agencies are frequently appointed not from within, but from the President's network of supporters in private firms.

bdubs wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:bump. do gov lawyers have a hard time lateraling into private firms?

No, this is a big reason why people like gov. work. There is a revolving door between the government and the private sector.

I would assume that your options might be limited by your position. A D.A. might be able to lateral into the white collar group at a large local firm, but they won't be able to lateral into a job in a corporate group in NY.

I think this is even more apparent with the regulatory groups in DC. The high level regulators often "retire" from service and become partners at large firms. The heads of agencies are frequently appointed not from within, but from the President's network of supporters in private firms.

A state senator is a partner at my firm. A former state supreme court justice is also a partner/of counsel. There are even more instances of this in the DC office of the firm. Practically speaking, these probably are not the type of lateral positions you're concerned with because these individuals are on a very different track. However, the younger attorneys that worked with the Senator and the law clerks that worked for the judge probably have a huge leg up at the firm now. The Judge's spouse is also a partner at the firm and there are at least 3 associates that clerked for this judge in the past 5-6 years.

They don't come in and work in bankruptcy or IP, but the firm has a big governmental practice and having a prior gov't attorneys is very helpful. Former prosecutors could in fact find a home at a large firm with a criminal defense practice or if they're looking to get out of criminal law it's possible they could fit into a litigation practice generally, as the skill set is there.