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Second year restructuring associate here. I don’t particularly like what I do, and I’d rather have a job that’s more close to a strict 9-5. I also want to feel like I’m doing something meaningful.

I am interested in working in government, but I don’t really know anything about the process. I also don’t have any experience there. Basically, I’m just looking for general advice on how to make this transition (and whether or not I’m a lost cause at this point).

Relevant to you, there are basically 4 kinds of government jobs. 1 local government 2 general fed government 3 honors hiring 4 USAO. For local government, it can be a who you know game, but that varies wildly in practice area and locality. In New Mexico (where I work) you generally see the postings in the monthly bar bulletin. General fed government is similar, except it’s more competitive because it pays way better, and you find those jobs on USA jobs. Honors hiring is only for clerks and law students, so that’s one you might be frozen out of. USAO hiring is a black box that varies wildly by market and office hiring, and it is by far the most competitive (even though they generally pay less and work longer hours with more stress than GS, or regular fed, jobs).

If you are interested in working for state gov, google [your state] gov job listings. From there, search "attorney". My experience was that I had to blanket apply to a bunch of agencies that were seeking an attorney. Out of 9 applications I landed a job, but it was a 5 month long process because government hiring is notoriously slow.

There's a world of difference between federal and local government jobs. For federal, you'll want top grades and pedigree and a clerkship. One of my colleagues now was about top 1/3 at UVA and couldn't find any litigation-related federal job in DC. She told me that was common issue for UVA grads in the top half or a little higher. Civil federal jobs are usually going to be less competitive than criminal ones. USAOs are often more competitive than biglaw. I think I applied to 50-60 in an 18 month period and got 5-6 interviews (usually in rural/branch offices, and two in DC). Smaller offices may put more of a premium on connections and grades though. I lost out to some folks who were connected, went to T2s, and in some instances had little criminal trial experience.

Local government can be competitive (like SF, NYC), but generally there are a lot fewer barriers to entry. I would say connections to the area and subject matter experience / demonstrated interest are typically the most important qualities we look for. Sometimes it's luck though. My agency is normally hyper-competitive (there were years where no one in an office of 150 +attorneys left), but we are hemorrhaging people now because the private market is fairly hot. Generally if you want to do local government work, connections tend to matter the most -- such as going to a local school or having family in the area. It's not always enough though. Other state/local government offices now are leaning more towards hiring outsiders from the T14 though. Depends if you find an elected that is trying to clean house / consolidate power, or trying to maintain the status quo.

Definitely apply broadly. I had to apply to something like 40 jobs (with about 3 years of trial experience) to get two offers. Also, it's going to really help if you apply and have a local address and if you're obviously already barred in the target market. I tried applying from a few states away, despite growing up in my target state, and hardly got any interviews initially.

andythefir wrote:Relevant to you, there are basically 4 kinds of government jobs. 1 local government 2 general fed government 3 honors hiring 4 USAO. For local government, it can be a who you know game, but that varies wildly in practice area and locality. In New Mexico (where I work) you generally see the postings in the monthly bar bulletin. General fed government is similar, except it’s more competitive because it pays way better, and you find those jobs on USA jobs. Honors hiring is only for clerks and law students, so that’s one you might be frozen out of. USAO hiring is a black box that varies wildly by market and office hiring, and it is by far the most competitive (even though they generally pay less and work longer hours with more stress than GS, or regular fed, jobs).

Just qualifying the above: the pay rate for local gov't varies by agency and location. I work for NYC and make more than many federal gov't positions located in the city.

pi_lawyer wrote:

andythefir wrote:Relevant to you, there are basically 4 kinds of government jobs. 1 local government 2 general fed government 3 honors hiring 4 USAO. For local government, it can be a who you know game, but that varies wildly in practice area and locality. In New Mexico (where I work) you generally see the postings in the monthly bar bulletin. General fed government is similar, except it’s more competitive because it pays way better, and you find those jobs on USA jobs. Honors hiring is only for clerks and law students, so that’s one you might be frozen out of. USAO hiring is a black box that varies wildly by market and office hiring, and it is by far the most competitive (even though they generally pay less and work longer hours with more stress than GS, or regular fed, jobs).

Just qualifying the above: the pay rate for local gov't varies by agency and location. I work for NYC and make more than many federal gov't positions located in the city.

I'd further qualify the quoted (and the above, not-quoted post stating that fed gov requires high pedigree) by saying that not all fed gov jobs are as competitive as others. If you're talking SEC, OCC, CFPB, DOJ, or USAO, it rings more true. But there are tons of other agencies that are on the GS pay scale and pay you upwards of six figures with 3 years experience, like my own, and where the pedigree isn't terribly important. We generally look for people who have skills we value (restructuring can be one such skill) and who may have some interest in agency's mission. If folks with really impressive stats aren't getting those GS jobs, it could well be because the pedigree matters so much less--not because it matters more.

In that sense, it can be a bit of a black box, so I'd advise you to just apply broadly to any posting you think you're interested in. USAJobs makes doing so pretty easy tbh. Good luck!

ETA: I'll also throw in that it is those GS agencies with the more modest salaries that are more likely to give you the true 9-5 you're looking for.

Also, USAOs generally pay less than GS with more stress and longer hours. Less-competitive GS seems like a dream job.