Federal antitrust atty taking qs Forum

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone heard from the most recent FTC posting?

[Anonymous User]

I got a DOJ-ATR SLIP slot with one of the regional criminal offices. What are the odds of getting a DOJ Honors slot after SLIP and do you find DOJ Honors Attorneys are generally less prepared than those who spend time in Big Law before joining ATR?

[Anonymous User]

I got a DOJ-ATR SLIP slot with one of the regional criminal offices. What are the odds of getting a DOJ Honors slot after SLIP and do you find DOJ Honors Attorneys are generally less prepared than those who spend time in Big Law before joining ATR?

OP here -- Sorry for not responding before! I thought this thread had died and didn't respond to this question. To the extent still helpful, let's take your questions in turn. I think doing a summer program increases the odds of getting a position at either agency, conditional on performing well in the internship (i.e., great work product, demonstrated enthusiasm, positive reviews).

Not sure it's worth comparing DOJ Honors attorneys to those who lateral after a few years in Big Law. An entry level attorney will lack certain experiences relative to a mid-level lateral. If you're wondering how someone with 5 years experience as an honors attorney compares to a 5th year lateral, that's really in the eye of the beholder. The honors attorney would have a lot more sophisticated understanding of the inner workings of the government and the processes involved in investigations. However, the lateral may have significantly better writing experience and a greater breadth of antitrust experience.

I'll keep checking this again in the next few weeks.

[Anonymous User]

Anon biglaw midlevel antitrust associate who has posted in here before. Just as general advice from my experience attempting to move to DOJ ATR or FTC in a satellite office, I would take that summer gig and try to get an offer out of it. When I was graduating, biglaw was framed as a place you could go pay off some loans, get experience, beef up your resume, and jump to government whenever you like. That is not the case at all. I've been applying to the agencies (granted, exclusively outside of DC) for 2+ years with no luck and a resume very tailored to antitrust.

All is to say if you're looking for a comparison for someone 5+ years out of biglaw and someone who managed to get an agency job out of school and stayed 5 years, if the agency is how you'd like to spend your career, that person is in my view in a much better spot even without the $$ because it may not be possible even after 5+ years in biglaw to get where they are.

[Anonymous User]

Can anyone speak to mobility from FTC or ATR to other trade-related government roles such as USTR or CFIUS or Treasury? Transferrable skills? Ease of transition? What about to political roles, e.g., counsel to a Senator or committee?

Also, how do the experience and exits compare across merger v. conduct?

Thanks!

[Anonymous User]

Can anyone speak to mobility from FTC or ATR to other trade-related government roles such as USTR or CFIUS or Treasury? Transferrable skills? Ease of transition? What about to political roles, e.g., counsel to a Senator or committee?

Also, how do the experience and exits compare across merger v. conduct?

Thanks!

OP here. Antitrust is fundamentally different than "trade." They're really different areas of law. Antitrust is an investigations and enforcement-focused area of law that applies a handful of statutes that have been interpreted by courts. I haven't done tons of international trade work at USTR or Treasury, but much of the work (as I understand it) is more policy driven. If you work at the ITC, ITA, Commerce, etc., there's probably some enforcement work but a lot is driven by private litigation. Moreover, trade is a regulatory area, where there's more rule making and application of regs. It's just a different area of law. CFIUS is a bit of a black box and I can't really speak to that.

There are plenty of exit opportunities across both merger and conduct work. If you want to go to a defense side firm, both types of work open doors. If you want to go to a plaintiff's side firm, you're better off doing conduct work. Both types of work open doors for in house jobs, but you're probably better able to advise on compliance issues if you're familiar with conduct work.

[Anonymous User]

Very helpful, thank you.

Can anyone speak to mobility from FTC or ATR to other trade-related government roles such as USTR or CFIUS or Treasury? Transferrable skills? Ease of transition? What about to political roles, e.g., counsel to a Senator or committee?

Also, how do the experience and exits compare across merger v. conduct?

Thanks!

OP here. Antitrust is fundamentally different than "trade." They're really different areas of law. Antitrust is an investigations and enforcement-focused area of law that applies a handful of statutes that have been interpreted by courts. I haven't done tons of international trade work at USTR or Treasury, but much of the work (as I understand it) is more policy driven. If you work at the ITC, ITA, Commerce, etc., there's probably some enforcement work but a lot is driven by private litigation. Moreover, trade is a regulatory area, where there's more rule making and application of regs. It's just a different area of law. CFIUS is a bit of a black box and I can't really speak to that.

There are plenty of exit opportunities across both merger and conduct work. If you want to go to a defense side firm, both types of work open doors. If you want to go to a plaintiff's side firm, you're better off doing conduct work. Both types of work open doors for in house jobs, but you're probably better able to advise on compliance issues if you're familiar with conduct work.

[Anonymous User]

Anybody who applied heard anything from the Feb 2022 DOJ criminal antitrust job posting?

[Anonymous User]

Anybody who applied heard anything from the Feb 2022 DOJ criminal antitrust job posting?

Interview invites went out about a month ago for the term limited position. Dont know about the permanent position

[Anonymous User]

Just in case folks are interested—FTC has a posting up on USAJobs for lateral attorneys in their antitrust enforcement divisions.

[Anonymous User]

Just in case folks are interested—FTC has a posting up on USAJobs for lateral attorneys in their antitrust enforcement divisions.

[Anonymous User]

Just wanted to bump in light of some recent DOJ postings. There's a year-long open-continuous posting. Would be interested to know if anyone is aware of any movement on those applications.

[Lacepiece23]

Sorry if this was answered, how much money do you make? Was it worth the paycut from biglaw?

[Anonymous User]

Sorry if this was answered, how much money do you make? Was it worth the paycut from biglaw?

I'd rather not give out specific numbers, but we get paid on the GS scale, which you can find on the OPM website. For me the paycut was definitely worth it. I won't deny the pay gap is very real, especially when you factor in bonuses. However, the difference in experience is significant. As a staff attorney, you get to run your own cases--you're interfacing with the senior partners, you're taking investigational hearing/depositions, you're taking witnesses in litigation. From a day-to-day work perspective, the quality of my assignments is better. Moreover, the responsibility you get at an early stage is not remotely comparable. From a longer term perspective, I've developed skills that are transferable and in demand that I would not have developed had I stayed at my old firm.

[Lacepiece23]

Sorry if this was answered, how much money do you make? Was it worth the paycut from biglaw?

I'd rather not give out specific numbers, but we get paid on the GS scale, which you can find on the OPM website. For me the paycut was definitely worth it. I won't deny the pay gap is very real, especially when you factor in bonuses. However, the difference in experience is significant. As a staff attorney, you get to run your own cases--you're interfacing with the senior partners, you're taking investigational hearing/depositions, you're taking witnesses in litigation. From a day-to-day work perspective, the quality of my assignments is better. Moreover, the responsibility you get at an early stage is not remotely comparable. From a longer term perspective, I've developed skills that are transferable and in demand that I would not have developed had I stayed at my old firm.

Cool, kind of sounds like my experience as a plaintiffs attorney. Not something I’d do, but I like know the options out there for younger lawyers I mentor.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have insight into exit options from field offices (eg SF) for a 8-10 year? Is it common to be hired as a partner somewhere even if you’ve only been at the agency for a couple years?

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have insight into exit options from field offices (eg SF) for a 8-10 year? Is it common to be hired as a partner somewhere even if you’ve only been at the agency for a couple years?

That's kind of an awkward spot to be in. Everyone I've seen hired as a partner or even of counsel was in some kind of leadership or at least above a line attorney position at FTC or DOJ. You're probably a bit too senior to come on as an associate though, so that's why it's a tough spot. I would either stick around and try to get a leadership position for a few years before trying to lateral in to private practice.

[Anonymous User]

Finally got an offer from one of the agencies after applying for a couple years. Don't give up!

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have insight into exit options from field offices (eg SF) for a 8-10 year? Is it common to be hired as a partner somewhere even if you’ve only been at the agency for a couple years?

I've been at one of the agencies in the main office for a while and have seen a lot of movement back and forth. From the regional offices, with 8-10 years of good experience (significant roles on investigations/litigations), you should be able to swing a counsel spot. Its is NOT common to be hired as a partner after only a few years--it happens but that's the exception and certainly not something to take for granted. Even those people with management titles have been in those roles for several years before lateraling in as partners in Big Law.

[Anonymous User]

Finally got an offer from one of the agencies after applying for a couple years. Don't give up!

Congrats! If you don't mind, would be interested in hearing what your experience was - what year, more lit or M&A focused, etc. Thanks!

[Anonymous User]

Finally got an offer from one of the agencies after applying for a couple years. Don't give up!

Congrats! If you don't mind, would be interested in hearing what your experience was - what year, more lit or M&A focused, etc. Thanks!

7+ years, mostly deal experience. I was invited to interview around 2-3 weeks after applying, and the process was fairly quick from there.

[Anonymous User]

OP here -- reviving this thread as both agencies will be hiring a ton of people in the coming months, so happy to answer questions about gov't practice.

[Anonymous User]

Curious what leads you to believe there will be a large amount of hiring in the coming months.

[Anonymous User]

Curious what leads you to believe there will be a large amount of hiring in the coming months.

Not OP, but there have been tons of public speeches from higher ups at both FTC and DOJ that have explicitly referred to this.

[Anonymous User]

Curious what leads you to believe there will be a large amount of hiring in the coming months.

Also not OP, but I'd add that both DOJ Antitrust and FTC have won significant budget increases for 2023 in the form of additional Congressional allocations as well as expected income from increased HSR filing fees.