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My summer firm in a secondary market did not offer anyone in corporate. How difficult is it to switch from litigation to corporate after a year or two, likely at another firm?

Anonymous User wrote:My summer firm in a secondary market did not offer anyone in corporate. How difficult is it to switch from litigation to corporate after a year or two, likely at another firm?

Very difficult. Basically the economy would need to heat up to the point where firms need any warm body they can get to keep up with their deals. Corporate has a high learning curve and none of your skills would be transferable.

If you really want corporate, hustle to find another job now. Has the clerkship ship sailed yet? Clerkships aren't particularly helpful for corporate, but they can get you another look at firms for entry-level. Once you get to your new firm, network from within and figure out if there is anyway to move over to corporate or get corporate crumbs (which could help you in getting corporate at another firm). Try to get on litigation that will give you some hook into corporate -- industry expertise, exposure to the fall-out from deals gone bad, etc.

The longer you stay in litigation, the hard it will be to get over to transactional. Also, expect to be dropped down class years -- if you have no corporate experience, you might need to come in as a first year again. (Or be held at your current year for a year or two.)

TooOld4This wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:My summer firm in a secondary market did not offer anyone in corporate. How difficult is it to switch from litigation to corporate after a year or two, likely at another firm?

Very difficult. Basically the economy would need to heat up to the point where firms need any warm body they can get to keep up with their deals. Corporate has a high learning curve and none of your skills would be transferable.

If you really want corporate, hustle to find another job now. Has the clerkship ship sailed yet? Clerkships aren't particularly helpful for corporate, but they can get you another look at firms for entry-level. Once you get to your new firm, network from within and figure out if there is anyway to move over to corporate or get corporate crumbs (which could help you in getting corporate at another firm). Try to get on litigation that will give you some hook into corporate -- industry expertise, exposure to the fall-out from deals gone bad, etc.

The longer you stay in litigation, the hard it will be to get over to transactional. Also, expect to be dropped down class years -- if you have no corporate experience, you might need to come in as a first year again. (Or be held at your current year for a year or two.)

The work is different, and there are few transferable skills.