Unhappy With Practice Group Placement?
Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 3:47 pm
So with the bar exam behind recent graduates and employment coming up, I wanted to create a thread for people who are getting their practice group placement and are less than pleased with where they have been put.
A bit of background: I was someone who wanted litigation and was assured of it by my V50 firm, only to be told about a month ahead of my start date that I was being put in a corporate group. Up until then, I had actually never heard of this happening, but I learned through my experience that it's actually a lot more common than I thought. After about a year at my old firm, I switched firms to do litigation, and am much happier now. For those who might be going through something similar, I wanted to offer some advice, broken out into two categories: approaches at work, and approaches to the lateral search.
Approaches at Work
1. My first piece of advice is that if you're really disappointed with your practice group placement, let yourself cycle through the normal emotions. I was surprised, scared, angry, and frustrated. I thought it was extremely cavalier of my firm to make such a huge, life-impacting change for me when they had led me to believe otherwise. It's understandable to feel frustrated by it, and allow yourself that. However, try not to take it too personally (with an important caveat below). Firm hiring, especially for biglaw, is weird; they're essentially hiring for two years out in a very imprecise way, and a lot can happen during that time. Markets change, huge cases settle, clients merge/leave. And you get paid a lot as a first year associate, and firms aren't going to pay you to sit around in a group that has no work. It's a business, and you're one of probably a lot of incoming associates. You still graduated from law school and got a job so you're kicking ass. It might help to talk to non-lawyers about it, if you're feeling down about your situation. When I would explain how distraught I was to not be doing the kind of work I wanted at an entry level for a six figure salary, my non-law friends would look at my like I was crazy, and that helped put things into perspective.
2. With all that said, you should be on high alert. It's impossible to say exactly what motivated your firm to single you out to move practice groups, but it's likely that they at least considered that you would be among the first to leave. That should be a red flag to you. Right now, despite the group placement, you have one big thing going for you: you have a job. That obviously allows you to survive/pay off loans/pay bills, but it also makes the job search infinitely easier. It might not be your ideal job, but do everything you can to keep it. Don't let any bad attitude you might (understandably) have affect your work product or relationships with people at your firm; you don't need to give them a reason to fire you. I learned very early on that being bitter about the situation didn't actually make anything better, and actually made things a lot worse. You're still getting paid handsomely, keep a good attitude, and be someone that people want to work with. This will also increase your chances of switching groups within your firm if they allow you to later on.
3. Assuming you can't switch within your firm, though, look for ways to build experience at your current job. This can probably best be done with pro bono, where you tend to have more control over the kinds of projects you work on. You can focus on things that require skill sets in the practice area that you want, and there's usually some pro bono that would align with your interests (even for corporate). Beyond that, focus on developing broad skills that all juniors need to have, like organization, time management, good billing practices, etc. Firms know that if they're interviewing a junior associate, that person is not an expert in their field; what usually makes a good junior (regardless of practice group) is someone who is very organized, on top of tasks, communicates well, etc. Constantly be thinking about ways you could spin each assignment you do as a positive in a job interview. For example, I talked about the ways that working on corporate deals exposed me to direct client interaction, or the considerations of those working within the company, or helped me develop/refine organizational skills. There's a lot to learn at any job so make sure you're learning something each day that could go towards making you a better associate in your desired practice area.
4. Try to get admitted/on your firm's website as soon as possible to make yourself a more appealing candidate, and to dispel any hint that you might have been terminated.
Approaches to the Job Search
1. When searching for openings, utilize every resource that you can. Checking your law school's job database could be a good place to start, because a lot of the positions are for students/recent graduates. Laterally is also a service that notifies you of lateral openings, and you can target it to ones that might fit your circumstances. Your state bar association also likely sends out job openings. LinkedIn is helpful for searches. Talk to friends from law school to see if their firms are hiring. See if friends in your desired practice group can forward you recruiter emails that they receive. Also just apply blindly; create a large list of firms and apply to a few firms each day. Where you apply will depend on your particular circumstances, but try to be as flexible as possible. This will obviously open up more options for you. Also, be willing to start over as a first year associate, including pay, and make that clear to firms upfront.
2. On the subject of recruiters, this one is hit or miss. On the one hand, they can help you target your search to firms that fit with your unique set of circumstances; on the other hand, firms usually don't want to pay a recruiter fee for a junior associate that they'll have to retool. I worked with two recruiters. One I really didn't like; she seemed self-interested and more focused on the commission than actually assisting me in my situation. Another was fantastic; she found me specific firms that were looking to re-tool a junior associate, but also explicitly told me to apply to most places on my own, as that would help avoid the recruiter fee and make me a more appealing candidate. She got me some interviews with biglaw firms that were very helpful. So I wouldn't rule out recruiters, but be cautious.
3. Practice your interview skills. It's likely been a while since you've done a job interview, and that job interview was likely at OCI, when you had just a few softball questions to answer (why law school, which class did you like the most, why our firm, etc.) Lateral interviews are very different though, because you have a lot more to talk about, especially of substance. I had an early interview with another firm that I completely bombed. I was able to talk generally about my experiences in my 3L clinic, but the partner was grilling me on specifics of a memo that I wrote for that, and I couldnt remember those details. But it was a wake-up call, and I created an outline that covered everything on my resume and gave me talking points in case it came up. I was able to discuss certain deals that I worked on in detail, and could recite specific facts for each of the pro bono matters that I brought up in interviews. No one else ever brought up anything as specific as that first interview, but it was still helpful to have and made me feel more confident going into my interviews.
I think that's it for now, but please feel free to ask any questions about this process. It sucks, but know that you are not alone, and in the grand scheme of things it's not a huge deal. You are more than your job and more than this practice group placement, so don't let it get you down!
A bit of background: I was someone who wanted litigation and was assured of it by my V50 firm, only to be told about a month ahead of my start date that I was being put in a corporate group. Up until then, I had actually never heard of this happening, but I learned through my experience that it's actually a lot more common than I thought. After about a year at my old firm, I switched firms to do litigation, and am much happier now. For those who might be going through something similar, I wanted to offer some advice, broken out into two categories: approaches at work, and approaches to the lateral search.
Approaches at Work
1. My first piece of advice is that if you're really disappointed with your practice group placement, let yourself cycle through the normal emotions. I was surprised, scared, angry, and frustrated. I thought it was extremely cavalier of my firm to make such a huge, life-impacting change for me when they had led me to believe otherwise. It's understandable to feel frustrated by it, and allow yourself that. However, try not to take it too personally (with an important caveat below). Firm hiring, especially for biglaw, is weird; they're essentially hiring for two years out in a very imprecise way, and a lot can happen during that time. Markets change, huge cases settle, clients merge/leave. And you get paid a lot as a first year associate, and firms aren't going to pay you to sit around in a group that has no work. It's a business, and you're one of probably a lot of incoming associates. You still graduated from law school and got a job so you're kicking ass. It might help to talk to non-lawyers about it, if you're feeling down about your situation. When I would explain how distraught I was to not be doing the kind of work I wanted at an entry level for a six figure salary, my non-law friends would look at my like I was crazy, and that helped put things into perspective.
2. With all that said, you should be on high alert. It's impossible to say exactly what motivated your firm to single you out to move practice groups, but it's likely that they at least considered that you would be among the first to leave. That should be a red flag to you. Right now, despite the group placement, you have one big thing going for you: you have a job. That obviously allows you to survive/pay off loans/pay bills, but it also makes the job search infinitely easier. It might not be your ideal job, but do everything you can to keep it. Don't let any bad attitude you might (understandably) have affect your work product or relationships with people at your firm; you don't need to give them a reason to fire you. I learned very early on that being bitter about the situation didn't actually make anything better, and actually made things a lot worse. You're still getting paid handsomely, keep a good attitude, and be someone that people want to work with. This will also increase your chances of switching groups within your firm if they allow you to later on.
3. Assuming you can't switch within your firm, though, look for ways to build experience at your current job. This can probably best be done with pro bono, where you tend to have more control over the kinds of projects you work on. You can focus on things that require skill sets in the practice area that you want, and there's usually some pro bono that would align with your interests (even for corporate). Beyond that, focus on developing broad skills that all juniors need to have, like organization, time management, good billing practices, etc. Firms know that if they're interviewing a junior associate, that person is not an expert in their field; what usually makes a good junior (regardless of practice group) is someone who is very organized, on top of tasks, communicates well, etc. Constantly be thinking about ways you could spin each assignment you do as a positive in a job interview. For example, I talked about the ways that working on corporate deals exposed me to direct client interaction, or the considerations of those working within the company, or helped me develop/refine organizational skills. There's a lot to learn at any job so make sure you're learning something each day that could go towards making you a better associate in your desired practice area.
4. Try to get admitted/on your firm's website as soon as possible to make yourself a more appealing candidate, and to dispel any hint that you might have been terminated.
Approaches to the Job Search
1. When searching for openings, utilize every resource that you can. Checking your law school's job database could be a good place to start, because a lot of the positions are for students/recent graduates. Laterally is also a service that notifies you of lateral openings, and you can target it to ones that might fit your circumstances. Your state bar association also likely sends out job openings. LinkedIn is helpful for searches. Talk to friends from law school to see if their firms are hiring. See if friends in your desired practice group can forward you recruiter emails that they receive. Also just apply blindly; create a large list of firms and apply to a few firms each day. Where you apply will depend on your particular circumstances, but try to be as flexible as possible. This will obviously open up more options for you. Also, be willing to start over as a first year associate, including pay, and make that clear to firms upfront.
2. On the subject of recruiters, this one is hit or miss. On the one hand, they can help you target your search to firms that fit with your unique set of circumstances; on the other hand, firms usually don't want to pay a recruiter fee for a junior associate that they'll have to retool. I worked with two recruiters. One I really didn't like; she seemed self-interested and more focused on the commission than actually assisting me in my situation. Another was fantastic; she found me specific firms that were looking to re-tool a junior associate, but also explicitly told me to apply to most places on my own, as that would help avoid the recruiter fee and make me a more appealing candidate. She got me some interviews with biglaw firms that were very helpful. So I wouldn't rule out recruiters, but be cautious.
3. Practice your interview skills. It's likely been a while since you've done a job interview, and that job interview was likely at OCI, when you had just a few softball questions to answer (why law school, which class did you like the most, why our firm, etc.) Lateral interviews are very different though, because you have a lot more to talk about, especially of substance. I had an early interview with another firm that I completely bombed. I was able to talk generally about my experiences in my 3L clinic, but the partner was grilling me on specifics of a memo that I wrote for that, and I couldnt remember those details. But it was a wake-up call, and I created an outline that covered everything on my resume and gave me talking points in case it came up. I was able to discuss certain deals that I worked on in detail, and could recite specific facts for each of the pro bono matters that I brought up in interviews. No one else ever brought up anything as specific as that first interview, but it was still helpful to have and made me feel more confident going into my interviews.
I think that's it for now, but please feel free to ask any questions about this process. It sucks, but know that you are not alone, and in the grand scheme of things it's not a huge deal. You are more than your job and more than this practice group placement, so don't let it get you down!