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I'm a 4th year litigation associate at a V10 in a major market. I went from law school to a district court clerkship (SDNY/ND Cal/DDC), then spent 1 year at my firm, left to clerk again at the circuit level (2/9/DC), and then came back to my firm last fall.

I have been back for about 6 months now, and I hate it. Not the firm, but my life (I'm stressed out all the time, I have zero social life, all I do is work, etc.). My last clerkship was probably more mentally demanding than my current job, but I get really stressed out juggling multiple matters at once for numerous partners who all demand 100% of my attention.

Can anyone help me brainstorm exit options/chances? Would there be an appreciable difference in terms of quality of life if I lateraled down from a V10 to say a V50 in the same market? (I get about 5 recruiter emails per day). Am I too junior to apply for an AUSA job? Any in-house positions for someone so junior?

Being a 4th year with 2 years of clerking seems like an odd position to be in, in terms of leaving big law. I would appreciate anyone's advice/commiseration/criticism (I realize that "suck it up for another 2 years" may be the correct advice).

Just want to throw in my 2 quick cents and say that you should not automatically expect a better experience laterallying to a lower v-ranked firm. I spent a few years between a couple of v-50 firms and did not have positive experiences at either. In fact, my life mirrored that of my significant other, who did two clerkship and worked at a v10 firm.

It’s more important that you try to learn as much as you can about the specific group you’d be working for at firms you’re interested in. I encounter folks who have great experiences working in biglaw at notoriously difficult firms, because they were working in a particularly awesome group or working for a great set of partners exclusively.

Outside of firms, I would say it’s not too early to go for inhouse and AUSA. It might take time to find the right opportunities and potentially multiple tries, but its not too early to position yourself for them and start applying. Doing your research and networking is key. Look people up on LinkedIn, especially at companies you’re interested in and look at their backgrounds. Do the same for AUSAs in the districts you’re targeting. I think you’ll find people who made it in even after just 2 years of biglaw+clerkship.