Fed Gov Opportunities for Corporate Lawyers? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'd lvoe to perform some type of government service down the line, in the financial sector, but I don't want to do federal prosecution or litigate.

Are most of the financial regulators keen on hiring transactional lawyers?
Would a background in M&A translate to anything, or would it most likely be securities regulation or some type of banking work?

Thanks!

[Danteshek]

Don't recommend it.

[lapolicia]

Don't recommend it.

Danteshek makes yet another valuable contribution to a government thread.

[Anonymous User]

Don't recommend it.

OP here. Totally open to this, but could you explain why?

[Danteshek]

Don't recommend it.

OP here. Totally open to this, but could you explain why?

Sure. What can you really contribute to the government if you have not had significant experience? I know one SEC lawyer who spent about 20 years as an investment banker before joining the SEC. He can contribute. Will you be able to make a meaninful contribution with 5 years as a corporate associate? I do not think so. If you want to spend 8 hours a day reviewing SEC disclosures in minute detail or responding to the same type of exemptive application for the umptieth time, go for it. But I warn you. The work is boring as shit and the skills are not transferable.

[Anonymous User]

Don't recommend it.

OP here. Totally open to this, but could you explain why?

Sure. What can you really contribute to the government if you have not had significant experience? I know one SEC lawyer who spent about 20 years as an investment banker before joining the SEC. He can contribute. Will you be able to make a meaninful contribution with 5 years as a corporate associate? I do not think so. If you want to spend 8 hours a day reviewing SEC disclosures in minute detail or responding to the same type of exemptive application for the umptieth time, go for it. But I warn you. The work is boring as shit and the skills are not transferable.

Do you work at the SEC? And if so, what office? IM? They've been fairly busy lately with Dodd-Frank, Volcker, Money Market Funds, etc. I know former biglaw corporate attorneys were working on stuff like this - and definitely more than reviewing exemptive apps (although that's surely part of it).

[Danteshek]

Don't recommend it.

OP here. Totally open to this, but could you explain why?

Sure. What can you really contribute to the government if you have not had significant experience? I know one SEC lawyer who spent about 20 years as an investment banker before joining the SEC. He can contribute. Will you be able to make a meaninful contribution with 5 years as a corporate associate? I do not think so. If you want to spend 8 hours a day reviewing SEC disclosures in minute detail or responding to the same type of exemptive application for the umptieth time, go for it. But I warn you. The work is boring as shit and the skills are not transferable.

Do you work at the SEC? And if so, what office? IM? They've been fairly busy lately with Dodd-Frank, Volcker, Money Market Funds, etc. I know former biglaw corporate attorneys were working on stuff like this - and definitely more than reviewing exemptive apps (although that's surely part of it).

Let's just say that had enough exposure to the SEC to know what I'm talking about. It is the kind of job I would have considered when I was still in law school and did not know better. Before I got a taste of transactional work. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, sadder than a senior counsel with 10 years or more of tenure. Perhaps the only sadder thing is a 7th year associate who fails to make partner at a firm and then is a senior counsel in year 14. And I saw a lot of those. A talented person does not just take a job at the SEC to start a career, or even 7 years out. The right way to do it, if you have to do it at all, is to wait until you have enough tenure in the private sector to be appointed to a senior position.

[Anonymous User]

Let's just say that had enough exposure to the SEC to know what I'm talking about. It is the kind of job I would have considered when I was still in law school and did not know better. Before I got a taste of transactional work. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, sadder than a senior counsel with 10 years or more of tenure. Perhaps the only sadder thing is a 7th year associate who fails to make partner at a firm and then is a senior counsel in year 14. And I saw a lot of those. A talented person does not just take a job at the SEC to start a career, or even 7 years out. The right way to do it, if you have to do it at all, is to wait until you have enough tenure in the private sector to be appointed to a senior position.

OP again. Interesting, thanks for that, man.

What sort of work starts opening up with the senior positions, for transactional attorneys, and what kind of transactional work lends itself best to that? Are these people typically Capital Markets-oriented associates or more of the banking/FIG-type attorneys? I understand the likelihood of my reaching that level's pretty low, but for curiosity's sake.

And though this goes against the thread's initial premise, what do you think is a stable, interesting job for a Securities or M&A associate leaving a strong NY firm after 5 years (give or take)?

[Danteshek]

Let's just say that had enough exposure to the SEC to know what I'm talking about. It is the kind of job I would have considered when I was still in law school and did not know better. Before I got a taste of transactional work. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, sadder than a senior counsel with 10 years or more of tenure. Perhaps the only sadder thing is a 7th year associate who fails to make partner at a firm and then is a senior counsel in year 14. And I saw a lot of those. A talented person does not just take a job at the SEC to start a career, or even 7 years out. The right way to do it, if you have to do it at all, is to wait until you have enough tenure in the private sector to be appointed to a senior position.

OP again. Interesting, thanks for that, man.

What sort of work starts opening up with the senior positions, for transactional attorneys, and what kind of transactional work lends itself best to that? Are these people typically Capital Markets-oriented associates or more of the banking/FIG-type attorneys? I understand the likelihood of my reaching that level's pretty low, but for curiosity's sake.

And though this goes against the thread's initial premise, what do you think is a stable, interesting job for a Securities or M&A associate leaving a strong NY firm after 5 years (give or take)?

I have a different perspective on this than almost anyone you will meet. Yes, you are right that SEC recruits these associates out of big NY firms. My view is that it is a bad career move for those associates. Those associates would get far better experience, which would be more valuable to the SEC in the long run, if they joined boutique securities firms, hedge funds, or private equity firms. If you start from the premise that the SEC has no idea what the hell is going on in capital markets, and is five or six steps behind any developments, you will start to understand my position. Experience in the markets is essential because in a law firm you are basically in the business of covering someone's ass, not in the real world of action where decisions are made. If you find the right mentor who has been engaged in the markets not only will you be able to earn a ton of money but you will get better training than any of your peers, regardless of the of the law firm's prestige. That is the kind of expertise and experience that will propel you into senior positions later on. You will know a lot more and have sharper skills (both legal and non legal) more than your peers who spent those years in law firms or at the SEC.