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Hello all,

Do you guys think its possible to become an associate in big law if you take a job as a legal assistant there? So my story is that I am a graduate of the class of 2017, graduated in the middle of my class. I took the bar 3 times, passed on my third try. In the meantime I was clerking for a small law firm until I began my clerkship with a state court judge. My clerkship ends in august, so I have been applying to many jobs. I had an informational interview with the head of HR at a biglaw firm in NYC, and I believe it went super great. She mentioned that because you will have more experience that a recent grad that looks favorable for you, however you have no experience in corporate work so you wouldn't be hired as a 2nd year associate. She described how my situation was unique, and would love to have me apart of the firm but I would start at the bottom. Sounds like bs to me, but I know because I want to do big law i I would take an job to show my abilities. She mentioned I can potentially become a staff attorney or legal assistant to get my foot in the door. I'm scared because I dont know if I would ever become an associate by taking this route. I worked hard to pass the bar so for me to become a legal assistant to start my career seems demeaning. On the flipside, there arent many opportunities for ppl to break into biglaw unless they were hired straight out of law school or they are a lateral. I love to prove my worth and work from the bottom but Idk if this is a good career move. What do you guys think?

Kdroper2 wrote:Hello all,

Do you guys think its possible to become an associate in big law if you take a job as a legal assistant there? So my story is that I am a graduate of the class of 2017, graduated in the middle of my class. I took the bar 3 times, passed on my third try. In the meantime I was clerking for a small law firm until I began my clerkship with a state court judge. My clerkship ends in august, so I have been applying to many jobs. I had an informational interview with the head of HR at a biglaw firm in NYC, and I believe it went super great. She mentioned that because you will have more experience that a recent grad that looks favorable for you, however you have no experience in corporate work so you wouldn't be hired as a 2nd year associate. She described how my situation was unique, and would love to have me apart of the firm but I would start at the bottom. Sounds like bs to me, but I know because I want to do big law i I would take an job to show my abilities. She mentioned I can potentially become a staff attorney or legal assistant to get my foot in the door. I'm scared because I dont know if I would ever become an associate by taking this route. I worked hard to pass the bar so for me to become a legal assistant to start my career seems demeaning. On the flipside, there arent many opportunities for ppl to break into biglaw unless they were hired straight out of law school or they are a lateral. I love to prove my worth and work from the bottom but Idk if this is a good career move. What do you guys think?

I assume legal assistant does not mean legal secretary. If it does, then no. Do not take. Otherwise, I think being a staff attorney could be useful assuming you have no other options. However, I would try to lateral after a year. But your situation is not that unique, just tell them you will start off as a first year. You really do not want to go to down the path of staff attorney if you can avoid it. They get paid less and it really only benefits the firm, not you unless you want relaxed hours.

I agree with the above. You should ask to come in as a first year associate. You've passed the bar and have worked in legal roles already, so you'd be more experienced than a first year associate. Class of 2017 is currently a 3rd year associate, so it's actually a 2 class rank demotion, so you should be more than capable of functioning as a good first year associate (and after a few years could potentially lateral and be closer to being in line with your class year at the new firm).

I don’t think either of these roles will lead to a partner-track associate position.

There's a non-zero, but still miniscule, chance of going from staff attorney to associate, but I have never heard of a single case of a barred legal assistant (assuming this means paralegal) going to associate.

Pretty much agree with everyone else. If it is a legal assistant job, under no circumstances should you take it. If it is a staff attorney job then that is at least something to consider. The likelihood of you going from staff attorney to associate at that firm is small, but I worked with several staff attorneys at my old firm that lateraled to other big law firms and became associates.

What everyone else has already said.

But also suggesting at all that you could start as a legal assistant is pretty bogus and suggests to me that the HR person has a frighteningly shaky grasp on what actually gets people lawyer jobs.

If you can get an offer for staff attorney, take it and use the title to lateral to another firm in a year or two as an associate.

Best wrote:If you can get an offer for staff attorney, take it and use the title to lateral to another firm in a year or two as an associate.

This. Several staff attorney in my firm have lateraled out as big law associates at other firms, particularly if you have a niche practice area you specialize in while you're a staff attorney, i.e. RE or something

Echoing what everyone said. Some firms also don’t list you as “Staff Attorney” on their sites. They just call you “Attorney.” Some other firms call them career associates (and list them as associates on their website). If the firm you interviewed with is one of these, I would take it if your goal is to work in a biglaw firm at all cost.

But, no, never take a legal assistant position.

ETA: for lateral purposes, I’ve seen many staff attorneys lateral to traditional associate roles. Only negative is that I’ve seen most of them start as first years (even after years as a staff attorney).