How horrible would it be for me to go back to my old job after 2 months at a new one? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Question is in the title. I was in-house my first 6 years out of law school but recently decided to take advantage of a hot market and lateral to a big law firm. 2 months in and I'm already miserable and missing my old job. Not sure they'd even take me back, but I'm really tempted to reach out and ask. How bad do you think it would look for me to go back to them and ask them to take me back?

[peoplearehungry]

Depends. How bad do you want to be at a law firm ever again? If you think the mistake was in the firm you picked, probably stick it out for a bit and then test the lateral market once you have a good story about why you are doing so (one that is not a general "I was miserable").

If you don't ever see yourself at a firm again, go back in-house if you can. The in-house people will understand (many of them likely chose the position because they didn't like one aspect or another of the law firm life), and the opinion of the law firm people won't matter.

[legalpotato]

I don't think it would be a bad look at all. If they liked you, they will be happy.

Sidenote: I can't imagine what it would be like to be inhouse your whole career, lifestyle perks and all, and then jump ship to what I assume is K&E.

[CanadianWolf]

It would not be horrible; the real issue is whether or not your former company will take you back.

[12YrsAnAssociate]

I had some regrets after leaving one job for another, and in hindsight I was just outside my comfort zone. Once I gained comfort in the new job, I realized I had made the right choice by moving. Maybe this doesn't apply to you, but I think it's worth being open minded. That said, my problem was that I didn't really like the change in work, but found the people at the new firm much more bearable. I could see a move the other way (to a rough group) being hard.

[Anonymous User]

Question is in the title. I was in-house my first 6 years out of law school but recently decided to take advantage of a hot market and lateral to a big law firm. 2 months in and I'm already miserable and missing my old job. Not sure they'd even take me back, but I'm really tempted to reach out and ask. How bad do you think it would look for me to go back to them and ask them to take me back?

Just out of curiosity, what are the biggest issues/probs causing the misery. Sorry to hear it’s not working out.

[Whatislaw]

The comfort zone is a good point. If it is a bad fit person wise, then that can't be fixed and you should consider a move either in-house or to another firm like others mentioned.

[Anonymous User]

I personally know of two different associates at my V50 firm who wanted to go in-house to a private equity firm, hated it, and came back to my V50 firm after less than one year (one came back after 6 months and another came back after about 10 months). It's a different situation from yours, but I thought I would just add this data point that going back to an old employer after a short stint happens more often than you think. Good luck.

[Inhousefuture]

Just wondering,

While it is well known why many people want to make the move Big Law- In House, what is the driving force for people that want to make the less common move of going from in-house to big law. While a minority have never been in Big Law, what makes some former Big Law attorneys want to return in house?

Thanks

[Anonymous User]

Just wondering,

While it is well known why many people want to make the move Big Law- In House, what is the driving force for people that want to make the less common move of going from in-house to big law. While a minority have never been in Big Law, what makes some former Big Law attorneys want to return in house?

Thanks

For those who never did biglaw, they probably started out making low 6 figures or even 5, and never had the chance to pay off debt and save up for a mortgage etc. Plus for long term career it's a huge plus to have biglaw on the resume somewhere.

For those who started biglaw and coming back, they're probably also making more money than in house. There's a couple of counsel at my firm that joined recently from in house, I don't know for sure but I think their counsel deals involve working normal schedules, so it's a great deal if so. Also, and this might not be typical, but there's a partner whose career trajectory went biglaw associate to in house for a decade to biglaw partner, and I think he was able to bring in his in house place as a client.

[MarcusH]

Just wondering,

While it is well known why many people want to make the move Big Law- In House, what is the driving force for people that want to make the less common move of going from in-house to big law. While a minority have never been in Big Law, what makes some former Big Law attorneys want to return in house?

Thanks

$ and job/geographic security--definitely not the hours.