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I summered at a V50 in a major market and recently received a full time offer to join the corporate group. My firm does a generalist/rotation thing for junior lawyers, which was one reason I was very attracted to the firm.

A few days after getting my offer, a partner from a very specialized transactional group calls me up and says he wants me to join his group. I know this partner a little bit, did some (but very little) work for him, but otherwise am unsure as to why I got the call. Again, the group is very specialized (think commodities/derivatives, project/leveraged finance, etc). His group is very small and doesn't participate in the "rotation". You either join that group or you don't, and if you do, you only do their work.

He's pitching me pretty hard, talking up the virtues of a small group and the kind of work they do, but as someone who from day 1 wanted to be a generalist, i'm somewhat apprehensive. Obviously, at some point I will specialize, but I don't know enough about this area of work to know whether I would enjoy it or not.

On one side I fear that I will I be losing something by specializing early on in an area I don't know, and that it is incredibly risky to commit to an area of law I know little about and is very niche. I'm also nervous as to whether the skills I learn in this group will be transferable if I decide I want to do something else.

On the other side, many have told me that who you work for is almost more important than what you're doing, and I really like the partner in this group and everyone else. I also know I would getting more responsibility earlier on than if I was on the rotation, and would also be getting great training.

I'm having a hard time weighing these pros and cons, and was wondering if anyone has had a similar dilemma.

You have an offer from the rotation/generalist part and are being courted by the specialist partner? Sounds like you're in a no-lose situation. Why not get coffee or lunch with the specialist partner and explain your reservations. He'll give you his thoughts, you can perhaps talk with a mentor or another experienced attorney, and make a decision.

legal_beagle442 wrote:You have an offer from the rotation/generalist part and are being courted by the specialist partner? Sounds like you're in a no-lose situation. Why not get coffee or lunch with the specialist partner and explain your reservations. He'll give you his thoughts, you can perhaps talk with a mentor or another experienced attorney, and make a decision.

OP here. Unfortunately not, and a glaring omission from my initial post. Turns out my offer is to join this specialized group. I received an offer in transactional work in general, was told I would receive a follow up with someone in my department later on, and then received a call from this partner. Basically, if I accept at my firm, i'm joining this group.

Anonymous User wrote:

legal_beagle442 wrote:You have an offer from the rotation/generalist part and are being courted by the specialist partner? Sounds like you're in a no-lose situation. Why not get coffee or lunch with the specialist partner and explain your reservations. He'll give you his thoughts, you can perhaps talk with a mentor or another experienced attorney, and make a decision.

OP here. Unfortunately not, and a glaring omission from my initial post. Turns out my offer is to join this specialized group. I received an offer in transactional work in general, was told I would receive a follow up with someone in my department later on, and then received a call from this partner. Basically, if I accept at my firm, i'm joining this group.

Beggars can't be choosers bra.

Anonymous User wrote:OP here. Unfortunately not, and a glaring omission from my initial post. Turns out my offer is to join this specialized group. I received an offer in transactional work in general, was told I would receive a follow up with someone in my department later on, and then received a call from this partner. Basically, if I accept at my firm, i'm joining this group.

Ah, that's different. You're in a good position now, and it sounds risky to turn that down unless you're really confident you can land something else. Also consider the exit options available down the line if you join the specialized group in case you really hate it. It's your life, but you may be better off learning to love it. If nothing else, it sounds like you'll be surrounded by positive (or at least tolerable) people.

What's the group? We can't tell you if the skills will be transferable if you don't tell us what you're going to be do.

If it's asset finance, I would do it. I think it's incredibly interesting and I've always gotten the impression that asset finance lawyers are thought of quite highly. Also, if you're interested in staying in the firm for a long-time, having a small practice group increases your chances of becoming partner exponentially.

Hard to say w out knowing the group, but if it's that's the offer then u pretty much just take it bro

If you don't like it, try to catch work from another group or partner. Sounds like you have no other option?