I am a biglaw associate working abroad. I am looking for opportunities to exit and ways to gain relevant experience, and would appreciate your advice.
Just like many other forum members, I went to law school thinking I'd like to do something helpful for society and would like my job to be international. This led me to two years at a criminal defense boutique (not much experience though); and then three years at a biglaw, focusing on M&A and international commercial transactions.
I'm doing pretty well, partners say I get everything quicker than others, and I have more responsibility than my peers. I really enjoy the international character of my work, but don't see myself in biglaw in a long-term perspective and want to do something more meaningful. The ideal exit would be getting a legal job at an NGO or IGO. I must say, I have a vague understanding of what exactly it will be like and how to get there.
Unfortunately, in the country where I work, law firms don't really do pro bono work. I am also far away from my state bar association and can't find an opportunity to volunteer remotely through it. I consider reaching out to fellow alums at big NGOs and asking if there are ways to volunteer in this country. I could also spend vacations volunteering somewhere, e.g. through volunteering trips, but such trips are rarely law-related.
Keeping in mind thoughts about future exit, I tried to keep my experience as general as possible. This year partners said they would like me to specialize, and I don't know which area in M&A or commercial law (if any) gives me more chances in NGOs / IGOs.
Sometimes I receive offers from clients to join in-house. This is not something I'd like to do, but I am wondering if in-house experience may be more valuable.
Do you guys have any thoughts what I can do to understand if such work is right for me and build relevant experience?
Experience for exit from Biglaw to NGO/IGO Forum
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Re: Experience for exit from Biglaw to NGO/IGO
How about looking into foundations like Lex Mundi or Ashoka - basically places that can match your interest so that you can apply your legal skills to do pro-bono or low bono work? There are social incubators that you might want to look into that wouldn't require a full time career transition but would allow you to see various nonprofit work available.
