How important is it to have worked in Big Law before going in-house Forum

[Inhousefuture]

Hello, A two part question:

1. How important is it to have worked in BigLaw before going in-house? Is it ever possible to get a good in-house job having worked Mid-law or a boutique after LS rather than Big Law?

2. Has anyone known of anyone who got a good in-house job without working in Big Law? If so, what type of
in-house job was it and where did they work before?

Would appreciate any thoughts.

Thanks

[dedede]

I'm part of a small in-house team for a large advertising/marketing company, and I'm actually the only person who has Big Law (or any firm) experience. The others all managed to find in-house jobs right out of law school, though some took jobs with the companies that they worked for prior to law school, which I would assume isn't an option available to most people.

[johndhi]

biglaw can be helpful in finding an in-house job but it isn't necessary. what's necessary is experience that is relevant to the company, or entry level positions.

for ultra-hard-to-get positions nowadays it might be closer to necessary (like Google or whatever), but there are plenty of non big law people there, too. if you get a job that allows you to review ten thousand technology contracts, then you'll be a good candidate for in-house no matter what your experience is.

[iDepreciateyou]

Big law is not a required experience to break into in-house. Sure it can help but what really matters is the relationship you have with X Corp's in-house department. For example in the tax field, tax attorneys in Big4 transition to in-house FAANG positions where they previously had a client that was FAANG while at Big4. If you're big law trying to break into an in-house position, transitioning to your client's in-house department could likely happen as long as you build a relationship during the course of your work. (I'm not Big Law btw and only speaking from anecdotal experience from the tax field).

[trebekismyhero]

I am at a mid-sized public company and I am the only atty with big law experience. It still is easier with big law experience because even at my company we primarily use big law so if you have those connections with a company as outside counsel it is easier to transition in-house. But definitely not a requirement

[cowgirl_bebop]

I think it's helpful, but not necessary. I know moving out to a client's legal team is not uncommon. But I worked at a small firm and then in midlaw before landing my in-house gig.