Changing Practice Areas Forum

[henry0625]

Hello all, I'm a longtime anonymous lurker but could really use some advice. Other than a brief in-house stint, I have spent the past three and a half years in T&E in biglaw in NYC. I wish I had pursued commercial litigation instead and would like to move to biglaw lit (I have some litigation experience from law school). I have had numerous informational interviews with alumni of my law school who are NYC biglaw lit partners, but no one has been able to offer much advice or direct help other than to suggest I try to transition internally at my firm, which is not feasible because my group is very tiny and would be severely handicapped by the loss of an associate and the difficult nature of filling my role (there is not a lot of movement among biglaw T&E groups). I really do not want to do any T&E related work going forward, including T&E litigation.

I also have tried to obtain a federal clerkship in the NYC area, but I was unsuccessful in getting any interviews. For personal reasons, I am unable to relocate to a less competitive region.

Any advice would be appreciated, especially from anyone who has successfully lateraled firms into a completely new practice group. Thank you in advance!