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Hey all -

I have been trying to lateral out of my current job as a torts attorney for the past year but have had no luck. A little background on me: 4th year in NYC, T14, below median grades with work experience entirely in torts on both plaintiff's and defendant's side. My current job is pleasant enough with very reasonable hours but horrendously low pay in the high five figures. I have extensive experience conducting depositions, writing and researching motions, and consider myself to be a good advocate in court.

I want to get out of torts because I can't imagine that I will be able to stand the drudgery much longer. The shoddy work by plaintiffs and my codefendants is shocking and it is depressing to work with middle aged people who have settled with their lot in life and put out terrible work product. The low billable rate we have means that my salary is capped no matter how well I do.

So my question to anybody that has escaped from tort litigation - how did you do it? What did you do to make yourself marketable to lateral out? Are there any tips or secrets you can give me? Any and all comments would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

As a general rule, fedclerk or maybe SSC clerking is always a great way for a relatively junior litigator to take a step up in prestige. Assuming geographic flexibility, i think your t14 puts you in the running for something. And, the further out of law school you are, the less your grades will get you autodinged.

My two cents. Good luck.

Are you stuck with NYC? I'm no expert, but my understanding is that the PI/ID market in NYC is pretty saturated, which drives down salaries (combined with the high cost of living). No-fault insurance probably doesn't help. Even if you stay in PI, you might have better experiences elsewhere.

I like the idea of a clerkship. Even federal judges have auto accidents and slips and falls on their dockets, so they won't necessarily look down on that experience. Your grades mean you aren't getting an SDNY clerkship, but you may have more luck in farther flung districts, especially with longer term clerkship terms (2+ years) that the top candidates tend not to like.

Failing that, you can look into moving up the food chain a bit. Find firms that still do PI, but also do a healthy amount of commercial litigation and other non-PI stuff (there are plenty out there), or firms that add more sophisticated stuff like class actions or toxic torts to the mix. That might give you an opportunity to branch out and work cases where spending time getting it right is rewarded.

Apply for product liability/toxic tort/mass tort positions at more prestigious firms, and sell your background. Once you’re there, slowly try to get work from other practice groups. I made a similar move from a smaller firm to a big law group. Although I have no plans to leave mass torts, work in our office is relatively fluid, and your goals are certainly possible. If it didn’t work at that firm, you would have big law on your resume and could possibly make another move.