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I'm approaching the up-or-out stage of Big Law in DC. I do not like litigating and have always regretted not going into tax. I'm now weighing whether to apply for Tax LL.M programs. Assuming I get into a top program, would I have a decent shot at Treasury or a corporate in-house job? Would employers look askance at the fact that I was a Big Law litigator for eight years before making this transition? For what it's worth, I have worked on criminal tax cases, which is a major reason I became interested in tax.

Another factor here is that my exit prospects as a litigator aren't promising. Government is insanely competitive, moving in-house is always a tough as a litigator, and I absolutely do not want to end up at a smaller law firm (or, heaven forbid, doing contract work).

Any honest thoughts are greatly appreciated! (For anyone wondering why I went this far as a litigator despite hating it: there are reasons, but they could out me. Just want to look forward now.)

Assuming that you earn an LLM in Tax at NYU or Georgetown, your main difficulty may be with respect to salary expectation. Simply put, 8 years of litigation experience isn't worth much to a tax practice group.

I think that my response above was a bit harsh.

While my best guess is that in-house counsel positions may not place a high value on your litigation experience, Treasury may.

I think that Georgetown's Tax LLM Program may place students in externship positions in the Treasury Dept.

If government work doesn't materialize, at least you will be in the best city for tax litigation/tax controversy matters if willing to work in a tax boutique or biglaw firm with a satellite office in DC.

I worked at one of the DC tax boutiques, and I think for someone with your background, the best case scenario would be:

NYU/Georgetown LLM —> Ivins/Caplin/Miller/etc. —> Government

I saw people leave for government jobs regularly, and that is a preferred outcome for the firm. They would sometimes push people to government jobs around 4th/5th year if they were definitely no longer on track for partnership.

Edit: because you have a litigation background, these firms may want you to do tax controversy. So there’s always that risk. People can still go into Treasury with tax controversy background, but in my experience, those attorneys usually went to DOJ.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 20, 2021 9:10 am

I worked at one of the DC tax boutiques, and I think for someone with your background, the best case scenario would be:

NYU/Georgetown LLM —> Ivins/Caplin/Miller/etc. —> Government

I saw people leave for government jobs regularly, and that is a preferred outcome for the firm. They would sometimes push people to government jobs around 4th/5th year if they were definitely no longer on track for partnership.

Edit: because you have a litigation background, these firms may want you to do tax controversy. So there’s always that risk. People can still go into Treasury with tax controversy background, but in my experience, those attorneys usually went to DOJ.

Would like to read more about your experience with a tax boutique in DC.

Are you willing to share ?

Thanks !

CanadianWolf wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 20, 2021 10:05 am

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 20, 2021 9:10 am

I worked at one of the DC tax boutiques, and I think for someone with your background, the best case scenario would be:

NYU/Georgetown LLM —> Ivins/Caplin/Miller/etc. —> Government

I saw people leave for government jobs regularly, and that is a preferred outcome for the firm. They would sometimes push people to government jobs around 4th/5th year if they were definitely no longer on track for partnership.

Edit: because you have a litigation background, these firms may want you to do tax controversy. So there’s always that risk. People can still go into Treasury with tax controversy background, but in my experience, those attorneys usually went to DOJ.

Would like to read more about your experience with a tax boutique in DC.

Are you willing to share ?

Thanks !

You can email me at bestdamnthrowaway at gmail dot com.