Transitioning from ADA to Civil Litigation? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm seven years out of law school and I'm looking to make a change. The majority of my experience has been in criminal law, with about half on the defense side and then half as a county prosecutor in a large city in the pacific northwest. I graduated from a top 20-30 midwest school in the top half. I did mock trial but not journal or law review. My trial experience is probably the strongest part of my resume, but it's less than most the seasoned prosecutors in my office. My last three years I've had about ten criminal jury trials and a couple hundred civil commitment bench trials, but not a lot of legal writing experience -- only two court of appeals briefs in that time and a couple dozen suppression motions. I'm getting to the point where burnout is a concern, and I'd like to move away from criminal law before I end up leaving the professional altogether. I'm not opposed to white collar defense, but I don't think I have the pedigree or experience for it.

To add an extra level of challenge to this, I'm considering trying to break into the Bay Area market. I interned for a couple public defender agencies in southern California, but otherwise have no connection to California aside from a brother who lives there and a fiancee who owns a home in San Francisco. Assuming I pass the bar exam and can find a job, one draw of moving to the Bay Area would be the free housing, so I don't necessarily need a prestigious, high-paying job to survive.

Any advice about how I should market myself, or what types of experience I should be seeking out currently? At the moment, I'm in a unit that specializes in economic crimes (some white collar, but also identity theft and run of the mill high-dollar shoplifts too). We rarely have trials, but I could request to be assigned to a trial-heavy domestic violence unit. I'm not sure how desirable either type of experience would be for a civil firm though (I doubt it's enough to get me into any white collar positions, since I have minimal federal experience). I'm 1-2 years away from making the transition out of ADA work. I am studying for the February 2020 California bar exam, so trying not to get too far ahead of myself.

Thanks for any input.

[objctnyrhnr]

What you’re describing is tough but not impossible, although 7 years out makes things a bit more difficult.

My suggestion is to get a ssc and/or a3 clerkship ASAP. Use that to transition. Otherwise they’ll assume you don’t have sufficient experience writing which, from your description, it sounds as if you probably don’t.

[Anonymous User]

Thank you, much appreciated. I've been concerned for awhile that the research and writing was a big gap in my experience.

[objctnyrhnr]

Thank you, much appreciated. I've been concerned for awhile that the research and writing was a big gap in my experience.

Yeah I mean the problem is that higher level private sector lawyers typically assume that research and writing will be an important and significant gap in this context. 9/10 times, they’re correct. In this situation I always advise people to spend 1-2 years clerking during which they hustle hard and do everything they can to land in the private sector once that ends.

[Anonymous User]

I made the switch form being an ADA to civil litigation, albeit a lot sooner than you (2 years as a prosecutor then switched).

At first I tried applying to large law firms. I thought my school would help me at least land an interview... but I was wrong. I scored zero interviews at biglaw/midlaw firms except for a few insurance defense mills that touted themselves as “multiservice firms.” I decided to turn my attention to smaller firms (5-15 attorneys) and had much more success. I think they valued my practical courtroom experience and I certainly tried to play it up. I also made an effort to dispel the notion that as a state prosecutor I didn’t have great writing skills. As a prosecutor, I tried to always respond to defense motions in writing, and I made sure to explain that to my interviewers.

I ended up working for a very small firm (3-5 attorneys) for about a year and then managed to lateral into a larger, national midlaw firm.