Is it possible to do something non-legal right after law school and potentially return to law later down the road? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I’m 99% sure I want to do something else but the 1% is terrified of foreclosing law forever. Any thoughts appreciated. HYS, fwiw, and barred in my state.

[Anonymous User]

I’m 99% sure I want to do something else but the 1% is terrified of foreclosing law forever. Any thoughts appreciated. HYS, fwiw, and barred in my state.

I can't imagine it happens very often, but I did this. I was funemployed for a year trying to get a law job and then worked at a large bank in compliance for two years. Out of the blue, I had a buddy reach out to me about an opening (I was not even looking to go back to law) and within 2 months I was hired as a first year at a V10 firm. Still going strong at a V20 firm as a 6th year.

[Anonymous User]

Really, this is impossible for anyone to know/give the answer without knowing what it is you want to do.

Focus on a non-legal role at a start-up? Probably can still enter into EC/VC corporate work after.

Join the military, but not as a JAG officer? No idea, but you probably will be able to get some government legal work somewhere after.

Run for Congress and win? Should be extremely easy to begin a legal career after.

Run for Congress and lose? Probably wouldn't be hard to begin a legal career after.

Move to Italy and take culinary classes while you split time between working as a trainee chef at a restaurant and winemaker at a winery? Yea, it's probably going to be a harder to begin a legal career after.

All of this is to say that we can't really give you advice without having an idea of what the "something non-legal" is.

[nixy]

Nothing is impossible, and I'm sure some people have done this. But I think you would make it much much much less difficult if you got practice experience first, then went to do something else, so that you have at least some experience in law if you want to go back.

It also probably depends what the non-legal job is.

[Anonymous User]

Absolutely. Your choices of what you do when you return to law will be more limited, but not foreclosed. You'll have a tougher time going into biglaw or into legal jobs that want previous legal experience. But there are tons of legal jobs that sit at some intersection of the law/policy/subject matter expertise and don't require strictly legal experience. If what you do now gives you some kind of subject matter expertise, you'll have a good shot at finding a legal job that values it. Also, having a HYS degree definitely helps getting that kind of job.

[Anonymous User]

I know someone who is a JD/MBA and worked at Evercore after graduation for a few years before she joined DPW recently.

Just providing a data point.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks, all. Said non-legal path would involve going back to school for a bit or at least taking classes, so I guess somewhat analogous to the culinary school in Italy example lol (though much less cool). I think I’ll try to get 1-2 years of practice in first.

[Anonymous User]

Yes but why would you want to? Many of us are trying to get out. It’s the same repetitive nonsense every day and the partners mostly call you to “check in” so they can tell the clients something (at least, mine do)