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Hey all,

I'm currently a midlevel (3-5 years) M&A associate at a large law firm in a regional market (think SF, Houston, Chicago etc). I'm not at one of the well known NY firms (e.g. Cravath, Simpson Thacher etc.) but my firm is a top player in my particular market. I work primarily in corporate M&A, although I have had a bit of PE work earlier in my career. As such, I don't have too many high level PE contacts. I'm interested in breaking into either a legal or investing role (although I'd prefer the latter).

I went to a top law school (e.g. Yale/Harvard/Stanford) and had three years of IBD experience at a top tier BB (GS/MS/JPM) prior to that. I didn't go through PE recruiting as an analyst because I was set on law school before hand. I enjoy my work as a lawyer (and being debt free right after law school was nice), but I've become more an more interested in getting back into finance and in private equity in general.

I know breaking into PE from law is a long shot for anybody, but does my finance background help at all? Anyone have any advice on who to network with, what kind of roles I might be suited for and whether it's a good idea to use a headhunter? I'm looking primarily at MM shops, not the megafunds. I appreciate any help.

Anyone have any insight?

Anonymous User wrote:Hey all,

I'm currently a midlevel (3-5 years) M&A associate at a large law firm in a regional market (think SF, Houston, Chicago etc). I'm not at one of the well known NY firms (e.g. Cravath, Simpson Thacher etc.) but my firm is a top player in my particular market. I work primarily in corporate M&A, although I have had a bit of PE work earlier in my career. As such, I don't have too many high level PE contacts. I'm interested in breaking into either a legal or investing role (although I'd prefer the latter).

I went to a top law school (e.g. Yale/Harvard/Stanford) and had three years of IBD experience at a top tier BB (GS/MS/JPM) prior to that. I didn't go through PE recruiting as an analyst because I was set on law school before hand. I enjoy my work as a lawyer (and being debt free right after law school was nice), but I've become more an more interested in getting back into finance and in private equity in general.

I know breaking into PE from law is a long shot for anybody, but does my finance background help at all? Anyone have any advice on who to network with, what kind of roles I might be suited for and whether it's a good idea to use a headhunter? I'm looking primarily at MM shops, not the megafunds. I appreciate any help.

Do you keep in touch with any of your old IBD buddies? How many of them went into PE? Without any PE fund contacts from your current gig it's going to be really hard. PE funds have people knocking down their door every day that have traditional backgrounds. Unless you have something unique to bring to the table it will be hard to catch their eye without a helping hand.

Your M&A experience sounds pretty generic and if I read your post right sounds like you're doing public co work and not private deals. Do you have any semblance of an industry expertise?