Biglaw --> State/local gov? Forum

[jhyde]

Hey everyone. I'm a near the end of my first year at a top firm in my non-NYC, non-DC city. I'm in litigation.
At this point I know that I'm not interested in staying in biglaw a moment after I pay off my student loans (just $75k to go!).

Since I had only worked for a year between college and law school, I really didn't have any idea what I was looking for in a career. But my time at my firm has given me a lot more to work with. I like litigation well enough, and think most of the substance is very interesting. But slowly giving up all of my passions and hobbies to work constantly in service of giant corporations doesn't really comport with my goals or my personal values.

So I've been thinking a lot about where I really want my career to go once the loans are dealt with, and I have developed an interest in state and local government work. I like the public service aspect of it and it seems like there's potential for a good variety of work. And the lifestyle seems a lot better.

My question is, how do I go about seeing if this is actually something I'm interested in doing and if so, making the transition (ideally around the end of my second year). It's not something I ever considered or learned about in law school (I blame the hive mind).

Many of the cities and towns in my state are represented by one of a few small to mid-sized firms rather than having their own city attorneys; would it make sense to try to lateral to one of these firms to get some experience in municipal law? Other paths?

I'm single and other than the loans don't have a ton of living expenses, so I am fine with the inevitable huge pay cut, but I'd appreciate in exchange some level of work-life balance.

Basically I'm wondering if anyone here who has made a transition from biglaw to state/local gov can share any thoughts or advice--why did you do it, when, how, and how has it been? Are my goals at all reasonable?

[Anonymous User]

From what I've seen, transitioning from Biglaw to federal/state/county/muni government is infinitely easier than coming from small/mid-law. If you want prosecution though, you'll need a good explanation of why you decided to change. I think the Biglaw pedigree and prestige though opens a lot of doors in general.

Is there some particular aspect of government work that interests you? There's a lot of variety. I enjoy prosecution but would really dislike working in our zoning unit, for example.

Does your office have any type of fellow program with local government agencies? That's one way to experiment and not take a major pay cut.

In your situation, I would try to work directly for a large government office of some type. After a few years of that, you can transition over to a firm that has a state/county/muni contract. But the reverse might be more difficult.

[Anonymous User]

I did what you're considering in reverse: I spent some time at a small local-government firm and now work in biglaw litigation. I really enjoyed my local-government practice. And from my view, I think it would give you a lot of the things you are looking for (QOL, public service, interesting issues, etc.). For what it's worth, I think going to an assistant city/county/town attorney position would have been pretty easy from that job if that was my goal. Happy to answer any specific questions about what that job was like if you have them.

[jhyde]

Thanks to both of you. This is really helpful.

To the first poster, I think I'd prefer to stay on the civil side of things as much as possible. But you're right, I definitely need to consider with more specificity what it is I'd like to do.

I did what you're considering in reverse: I spent some time at a small local-government firm and now work in biglaw litigation. I really enjoyed my local-government practice. And from my view, I think it would give you a lot of the things you are looking for (QOL, public service, interesting issues, etc.). For what it's worth, I think going to an assistant city/county/town attorney position would have been pretty easy from that job if that was my goal. Happy to answer any specific questions about what that job was like if you have them.

What did the bulk of your work look like? What did you like about it? Why did you decide to leave (if you don't mind my asking)?

Thanks again!

[Anonymous User]

The bulk of my work was litigation. For the most part, that was made up of § 1983/constitutional litigation for municipal agencies (school boards, police departments, etc.), some employment litigation, some procurement work (bid protests and the like), and a mix of other things. The rest of my practice was more advisory: attending city/town/etc. council meetings, drafting ordinances, that sort of thing.
I thought the work was really interesting, particularly the constitutional stuff. There are only so many ways to get that kind of work. I also liked working with local government types, who tend to be really well-meaning and public-service oriented in my experience.
Don’t mind you asking at all: I moved and wanted to make more money. If I could have found a job doing that kind of work for the money I make now, I would have taken it. It sounds like you are expecting a pay cut though, and the hours were definitely much better.

[jhyde]

This is really helpful and definitely makes me more interested in this kind of work. Thanks again!

[Anonymous User]

My pleasure! I hope things work out for you.