First-Year Corporate Specialist Woes Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm about four months in as a first-year in a corporate specialist group (think ECEB, tax, etc.) at a V50 (insert disclaimer about meaninglessness of Vault rankings) and I have this nagging feeling that I made the wrong choice. I generally like the substantive aspects of the practice area, but the group is pretty small and also seems to be pretty bad a training, mentoring, etc. At first I thought this was solely a problem with me, but apparently this group has a reputation for not doing a great job of training juniors, etc., which would explain why it seems like quite a few associates end up leaving within the first or second year. I've been trying to work on showing interest, asking questions, etc. but that hasn't seemed to help much. Part of me also wonders whether this is just one of the big downsides of delayed RTO (almost none of the partners have been in the office since I started in the fall).

All that said, this has kind of turned me off of this practice area but I'm not sure what the best move is. Part of me feels like I'm not learning to be a good lawyer and I could get better training and mentoring by retooling to a more general corporate practice. On the other hand, I'm not sure I'd really like that work. Part of me feels like I might have just chosen the wrong firm, and that I should look elsewhere. The problem with that is that no one really wants to hire someone with less than two years of experience so it's not clear that's even an option. Another part of me feels like I should just suck it up.

Curious if others have dealt with a similar situation and how you handled it if so.

[Anonymous User]

The problem with that is that no one really wants to hire someone with less than two years of experience so it's not clear that's even an option. Another part of me feels like I should just suck it up.

Curious if others have dealt with a similar situation and how you handled it if so.

I can't speak to the points on being a specialist, but I don't think the quoted is true in the current market. I'm a second year, and between people at my firm and friends at other firms, I know a lot of people who switched firms within their first year. I know many people in my year who are planning to move in the next few months, including myself.

This is probably the most mobility first and second years have ever had, at least in corporate. Firms are desperate for people. I think retooling/moving this early is much more realistic than you think and it's probably an easier sell as a junior. My advice is to do it sooner rather than later if you decide this is what you want. If you wait a year, there's no guarantee the market is still this good for juniors.

[Anonymous User]

The problem with that is that no one really wants to hire someone with less than two years of experience so it's not clear that's even an option. Another part of me feels like I should just suck it up.

Curious if others have dealt with a similar situation and how you handled it if so.

I can't speak to the points on being a specialist, but I don't think the quoted is true in the current market. I'm a second year, and between people at my firm and friends at other firms, I know a lot of people who switched firms within their first year. I know many people in my year who are planning to move in the next few months, including myself.

This is probably the most mobility first and second years have ever had, at least in corporate. Firms are desperate for people. I think retooling/moving this early is much more realistic than you think and it's probably an easier sell as a junior. My advice is to do it sooner rather than later if you decide this is what you want. If you wait a year, there's no guarantee the market is still this good for juniors.

OP here. Realizing I might not have been clear. I meant maybe I’m just in a bad specialist group and would be better off looking for opportunities in the same practice area at another firm. It seems like mobility is definitely there for corporate juniors but not so much for specialists as junior as me. Could definitely be wrong though.

[Anonymous User]

The problem with that is that no one really wants to hire someone with less than two years of experience so it's not clear that's even an option. Another part of me feels like I should just suck it up.

Curious if others have dealt with a similar situation and how you handled it if so.

I can't speak to the points on being a specialist, but I don't think the quoted is true in the current market. I'm a second year, and between people at my firm and friends at other firms, I know a lot of people who switched firms within their first year. I know many people in my year who are planning to move in the next few months, including myself.

This is probably the most mobility first and second years have ever had, at least in corporate. Firms are desperate for people. I think retooling/moving this early is much more realistic than you think and it's probably an easier sell as a junior. My advice is to do it sooner rather than later if you decide this is what you want. If you wait a year, there's no guarantee the market is still this good for juniors.

OP here. Realizing I might not have been clear. I meant maybe I’m just in a bad specialist group and would be better off looking for opportunities in the same practice area at another firm. It seems like mobility is definitely there for corporate juniors but not so much for specialists as junior as me. Could definitely be wrong though.

I understand why you want to be vague about your specialist group, but if it’s Tax or ECB, I think the lateral market is still pretty good. I’m at a V10 and it’s offering fairly hefty referral and signing bonuses for new hires in all transactional groups, explicitly including Tax and ECB.