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I will be a summer associate at one of JD's smaller offices (one of the market paying ones). I expressed my interest in the business & tort litigation (BATL) practice group during my interviews, but am now starting to question whether I actually want to do litigation. Even though I am only several weeks into my business associations class, I am really enjoying the material.

Do you think the firm has already slotted me into the BATL group or will I have an opportunity to explore the corporate side as a summer associate in the New Lawyers Group? My concern is that the corporate group is on the smaller side, so they might not have room for me if I end up wanting to do corporate.

You'll be fine. Just let your summer work coordinator(s) know of your interest in transactional work and reach out to the partners who do the type of work you want. If you don't get the work you want during the summer, no worries. While you'll mostly work on projects origination in your office during the summer, NLG year is designed to allow for experimentation/exploration precisely for people in your situation. I know some associates who work solely with partners from other offices.

Thank you! Do you know if it's possible to go from securities lit to an in-house position after several years?

To add to this, I summered at JD and during my first meeting with my work assignor, they said "it's been a bit since you indicated your practice area interest - any changes?"

If they don't bring it up spontaneously, just talk to your work assignor and they'll make sure to staff you on things you're actually interested in.