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I have a rather unique story. Law is a second career for me. I spent about a decade doing something entirely different. After several bar failures, I finally passed in 2017 (up until that point, I had been working in roles of increasing responsibility in healthcare compliance.) Since passing the bar, I’ve worked in-house, for the last year at a healthcare startup. I like the work Ok but as an ENFP, I miss mission-focused work. I’m also older (probably a lot) older than most folks here.

I’d like to transition into working for one of the local municipalities in a government role but that would mean I need either criminal, employment law or land use experience.

Does anyone have any advice on getting experience in these areas while working a full-time job? I’m lucky in that I have pretty set hours, a long-term partner but no children and a bit of free time. I live in one southwestern state and while not barred here, I am barred in a neighboring state that has reciprocity so many of the local governments will allow me to work there. Thanks.

Can you dabble in employment law at your current job? Or are you strictly healthcare? Are there any pro bono organizations you can work with in your spare time to give you some experience? And do you know if you actually need to have experience in those areas to get hired by your local government? It may make sense to network with some government attorneys and see how they landed their jobs - you may be more successful in landing a job that way even without experience.

All good questions. We mostly use outside counsel here for employment related issues but I do consult on some smaller topics pretty frequently and draft employment agreements for our medical staff. I'm thinking about doing an HR certification but I will also look out for some pro bono opportunities.