Am I Just Not Cut Out for Biglaw? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Disclaimer: I'm here bored out of my mind waiting for a deal to close after no sleep last night while my wife, kid and friends are at brunch (it's a Saturday). So apologies in advance for the likely rambly post and for assuming that TLS is a good place to go for therapy/career advice.

I'm a mid-senior level in a V10-ish corporate group. I generally find the work mildly interesting at a high level, and I'm also halfway decent at the job itself, having received pretty good reviews, especially last year. However, as I look at the partners and other senior associates around me and think about my long-term future, I can't help but feel that I'm missing something essential to being an effective and, moreover, fulfilled biglaw lawyer. It seems like other people, including all of the partners I work with, have a certain "fire", so to speak, that genuinely drives them to stay up all night and forsake all else in their life in the pursuit of absolute perfection and "winning" the deals. While I genuinely like achieving good results for my clients, I am always much more willing to compromise or accept that things are not going to be perfect. At the end of the day, there are things that are more important in my life than fighting over interim operating covenants at 430 in the morning.

Anyway, like I said, I'm not sure why I suddenly feel like TLS is a good place to seek this kind of advice. Mostly I'm curious whether other people struggled with this, particularly folks that have made the choice to be biglaw lifers. Were you able to train yourself to care more?

[lookatriffraffplease]

For context, I am a first year lit in biglaw (planning an exit already) and a K-JD so possibly in a very different position from you, and my advice may not be all that helpful—but.....what comes to my mind is that no.1, nobody on their deathbed wishes that they had worked more hours or pushed harder for that promotion or made 50% more money over the course of their careers, and no.2 more income only makes people marginally happy once you get to a certain level (I believe it's like $100k or even $75k).

Sure you may be particularly unhappy with the job today giving the circumstances and that you are not with family today, but maybe that's a signal that the time has come to consider going in-house or otherwise sacrificing some of that extra salary for more free hours? I think it's never a bad time to reevaluate where you are. Hope you're well.

[Anonymous User]

Story of my life as a mid/senior level in corporate as well. I feel almost foolish for wanting to not do this as a long term career since I seem to be good at it and in a position to succeed a major partner’s book, etc. However, I look at that partner (my mentor) and his colleagues and I just don’t want their life. Part of me fears that if I continue, I’ll become complacent and end up like them. Then, I have moments where I am grateful for the job (work remote from anywhere while my siblings are tied to their desk or on-site job; not counting whether I have enough PTO to make a trip happen; autonomy of my schedule where I can set my availability for calls/skip off for a break mid day, etc.). I have seem partners who lack the “fire” you speak of and they are doing just fine but certainly not the “rain making powerbrokers” people think of and that’s fine with me. Generally the few at my firm aren’t very well regarded among the group and take on the less desirable tasks (leading internal trainings or forums, etc.) so my fear then becomes that the boredom will be unbearable.

[Anonymous User]

Disclaimer: I'm here bored out of my mind waiting for a deal to close after no sleep last night while my wife, kid and friends are at brunch (it's a Saturday). So apologies in advance for the likely rambly post and for assuming that TLS is a good place to go for therapy/career advice.

I'm a mid-senior level in a V10-ish corporate group. I generally find the work mildly interesting at a high level, and I'm also halfway decent at the job itself, having received pretty good reviews, especially last year. However, as I look at the partners and other senior associates around me and think about my long-term future, I can't help but feel that I'm missing something essential to being an effective and, moreover, fulfilled biglaw lawyer. It seems like other people, including all of the partners I work with, have a certain "fire", so to speak, that genuinely drives them to stay up all night and forsake all else in their life in the pursuit of absolute perfection and "winning" the deals. While I genuinely like achieving good results for my clients, I am always much more willing to compromise or accept that things are not going to be perfect. At the end of the day, there are things that are more important in my life than fighting over interim operating covenants at 430 in the morning.

Anyway, like I said, I'm not sure why I suddenly feel like TLS is a good place to seek this kind of advice. Mostly I'm curious whether other people struggled with this, particularly folks that have made the choice to be biglaw lifers. Were you able to train yourself to care more?

You are sitting around waiting for a deal to close on a Saturday? You'll be waiting a while given banks don't open until Monday.

In all seriousness I get this 100%. I was highly regarded (no e-brag, plus I'm anon) in my v10, and yeah I did get satisfaction out of the job, liked interacting with smart ppl, enjoyed the work generally, enjoyed solving hard problems, etc. I also really liked the money.

But the sheer brutality of biglaw was more than I could bear, unfortunately. The saturday evening "hey we decided to do this deal need to turn all docs by tomorrow" emails, the way I could not make plans with my family or have to cancel them, not seeing kids for days, I just couldn't do it as much as I wish I could.

Again, it is kind of sad because, although I know everyone (especially the idiots) thinks they could make shares, I really think I could have (no e-brag), but I just couldn't stomach the near term pain. So I am resigned to a life of wage slaving in house for the rest of my life (instead of the possibility of retiring early at biglaw), but at least I can plan my life right now.

But think you just need to prioritize. The ppl who have that fire probably have different life circumstances. Again, the job and work actually are interesting, it just never ends. If you have a family or want a family, or have other hobbies or interests, then biglaw will interfere. The ppl who have that fire are able to get by on the satisfaction you do get from biglaw to make up for the time away from the other things. It's just a personal choice.

[Anonymous User]

Disclaimer: I'm here bored out of my mind waiting for a deal to close after no sleep last night while my wife, kid and friends are at brunch (it's a Saturday). So apologies in advance for the likely rambly post and for assuming that TLS is a good place to go for therapy/career advice.

I'm a mid-senior level in a V10-ish corporate group. I generally find the work mildly interesting at a high level, and I'm also halfway decent at the job itself, having received pretty good reviews, especially last year. However, as I look at the partners and other senior associates around me and think about my long-term future, I can't help but feel that I'm missing something essential to being an effective and, moreover, fulfilled biglaw lawyer. It seems like other people, including all of the partners I work with, have a certain "fire", so to speak, that genuinely drives them to stay up all night and forsake all else in their life in the pursuit of absolute perfection and "winning" the deals. While I genuinely like achieving good results for my clients, I am always much more willing to compromise or accept that things are not going to be perfect. At the end of the day, there are things that are more important in my life than fighting over interim operating covenants at 430 in the morning.

Anyway, like I said, I'm not sure why I suddenly feel like TLS is a good place to seek this kind of advice. Mostly I'm curious whether other people struggled with this, particularly folks that have made the choice to be biglaw lifers. Were you able to train yourself to care more?

You are sitting around waiting for a deal to close on a Saturday? You'll be waiting a while given banks don't open until Monday.

In all seriousness I get this 100%. I was highly regarded (no e-brag, plus I'm anon) in my v10, and yeah I did get satisfaction out of the job, liked interacting with smart ppl, enjoyed the work generally, enjoyed solving hard problems, etc. I also really liked the money.

But the sheer brutality of biglaw was more than I could bear, unfortunately. The saturday evening "hey we decided to do this deal need to turn all docs by tomorrow" emails, the way I could not make plans with my family or have to cancel them, not seeing kids for days, I just couldn't do it as much as I wish I could.

Again, it is kind of sad because, although I know everyone (especially the idiots) thinks they could make shares, I really think I could have (no e-brag), but I just couldn't stomach the near term pain. So I am resigned to a life of wage slaving in house for the rest of my life (instead of the possibility of retiring early at biglaw), but at least I can plan my life right now.

But think you just need to prioritize. The ppl who have that fire probably have different life circumstances. Again, the job and work actually are interesting, it just never ends. If you have a family or want a family, or have other hobbies or interests, then biglaw will interfere. The ppl who have that fire are able to get by on the satisfaction you do get from biglaw to make up for the time away from the other things. It's just a personal choice.

OP here. Man, all the replies here have really hit home and made me think, so thank you so much for the thoughtful responses so far.

Quoted anon: do you regret going in-house? I'm sort of with you thinking that I have an ok shot at making partner and used to be motivated by the fact that I [might] be able to retire at ~51-52. But the reality is that's about 20 years from now, and this shit can really drain the life out of you in sneaky ways. And who knows what could happen between now and then. Not to mention that part of my existential dread is seeing the partners' lifestyles now--the ones who have "made it"-- and being pretty lukewarm on that as a lifestyle notwithstanding the $3+ million. Also, re: weekend closing -- it's a long story...

Prior anon: are you planning on sticking it out?

[Anonymous User]

Disclaimer: I'm here bored out of my mind waiting for a deal to close after no sleep last night while my wife, kid and friends are at brunch (it's a Saturday). So apologies in advance for the likely rambly post and for assuming that TLS is a good place to go for therapy/career advice.

I'm a mid-senior level in a V10-ish corporate group. I generally find the work mildly interesting at a high level, and I'm also halfway decent at the job itself, having received pretty good reviews, especially last year. However, as I look at the partners and other senior associates around me and think about my long-term future, I can't help but feel that I'm missing something essential to being an effective and, moreover, fulfilled biglaw lawyer. It seems like other people, including all of the partners I work with, have a certain "fire", so to speak, that genuinely drives them to stay up all night and forsake all else in their life in the pursuit of absolute perfection and "winning" the deals. While I genuinely like achieving good results for my clients, I am always much more willing to compromise or accept that things are not going to be perfect. At the end of the day, there are things that are more important in my life than fighting over interim operating covenants at 430 in the morning.

Anyway, like I said, I'm not sure why I suddenly feel like TLS is a good place to seek this kind of advice. Mostly I'm curious whether other people struggled with this, particularly folks that have made the choice to be biglaw lifers. Were you able to train yourself to care more?

You are sitting around waiting for a deal to close on a Saturday? You'll be waiting a while given banks don't open until Monday.

In all seriousness I get this 100%. I was highly regarded (no e-brag, plus I'm anon) in my v10, and yeah I did get satisfaction out of the job, liked interacting with smart ppl, enjoyed the work generally, enjoyed solving hard problems, etc. I also really liked the money.

But the sheer brutality of biglaw was more than I could bear, unfortunately. The saturday evening "hey we decided to do this deal need to turn all docs by tomorrow" emails, the way I could not make plans with my family or have to cancel them, not seeing kids for days, I just couldn't do it as much as I wish I could.

Again, it is kind of sad because, although I know everyone (especially the idiots) thinks they could make shares, I really think I could have (no e-brag), but I just couldn't stomach the near term pain. So I am resigned to a life of wage slaving in house for the rest of my life (instead of the possibility of retiring early at biglaw), but at least I can plan my life right now.

But think you just need to prioritize. The ppl who have that fire probably have different life circumstances. Again, the job and work actually are interesting, it just never ends. If you have a family or want a family, or have other hobbies or interests, then biglaw will interfere. The ppl who have that fire are able to get by on the satisfaction you do get from biglaw to make up for the time away from the other things. It's just a personal choice.

OP here. Man, all the replies here have really hit home and made me think, so thank you so much for the thoughtful responses so far.

Quoted anon: do you regret going in-house? I'm sort of with you thinking that I have an ok shot at making partner and used to be motivated by the fact that I [might] be able to retire at ~51-52. But the reality is that's about 20 years from now, and this shit can really drain the life out of you in sneaky ways. And who knows what could happen between now and then. Not to mention that part of my existential dread is seeing the partners' lifestyles now--the ones who have "made it"-- and being pretty lukewarm on that as a lifestyle notwithstanding the $3+ million. Also, re: weekend closing -- it's a long story...

Prior anon: are you planning on sticking it out?

Super-senior associate here (class of 2012). I've been strung along on the partnership track for a while now, and I recently decided this shit is just not worth it anymore. The firm values my skill set, and I have demonstrated an ability to "grow the pie," so to speak. But I've already made enough money to buy a new house and completely pay off the mortgage (and all other debt), and I really don't see the point of retiring at 50 (not really into travel or anything else expensive). I guess I just don't understand the level of avarice you need to maintain this lifestyle for the bulk of your existence, to the exclusion of family, etc. It's almost like you need to be smart enough to do the work but dumb enough not to see the big picture in life in order to truly "make it" as a biglaw partner. I know it sometimes gets easier if you get a book of business, but there are so few partners who actually have a reliable book of business that it's a pipe dream to plan on getting there. I've resigned myself to applying to every in house job in my practice area until I land something decent (hopefully paying around 300k total comp, at least). At some point I've recognized that time is much more valuable than money. I get one life, and spending it with my wife and kids is infinitely more important than spoiling them with a huge inheritance (and likely ruining them in the process). Just my 2 cents.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for posting this. I'm in the same boat. We may not be able to figure out the right answer, but we shouldn't stop wondering.

[Anonymous User]

There are options in biglaw where this isn’t an expectation. You have to look around and forget about chasing prestige and the highest PPP firms (as they’re ultimately making that money off the back of your labor). I moved to a job last year where I literally haven’t worked a weekend past 6pm on a Friday. I still work to midnight occasionally during the week, but it’s much more sustainable (on those days, I’ll still go AWOL from 5-7pm and take my kid to the park / put them to bed). Find the right clients and partners and the rest takes care of itself. Also, forget about fulfillment, the kind of job you’re describing will hurt your health permanently long term, and health always > money.

[glitched]

Is class of 2012 considered super senior now? I feel old as I'm hovering around there as well. I had an inflection point a few years ago where I had to decide - am I going to gun for partner and probably not make it, or just coast as much as possible and definitely not. I sort of chose the latter because I just couldn't do the former.

I'm litigation so it's much easier to coast, but I don't really work weekends any more. Sometimes I do if I know it's something actually important. I don't do late nights. I miss deadlines sometimes (the ones I know aren't real deadlines). And my reviews have been entirely positive for my entire career. I may be sent packing one day but when that happens, at least I can look back knowing that I chose to spend time with friends and family every chance I could.

Anyway, kind of not responsive to your question, but I agree with everything you say. When I see partners, none of it seems appealing. Also, they all have such a crazy drive to win. When I was a mid-level I went to trial and I remember talking a junior partner and excitedly saying things like we did it - we presented everything we wanted to present in the way we wanted to. We should be happy. And the senior partner in the room told me essentially you should only be happy if we win. It hit me pretty hard then. Maybe I don't have "it" to make it to partner. I cared that we did a good job but I really didn't care all that much to win. The senior partner is an awesome person that I respected a lot and I don't think what he said was wrong, but it just showed me some people are built different.

[Anonymous User]

I was a senior associate in a v10 shop doing PE M&A and had very similar feelings as you.

After a lot more soul searching than I thought it would take I made the decision to go in-house and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. While I was in the thick of it, it seemed like everyone who was doing high level interesting work was by definition killing themselves and working to death. That just isn't true. You can have interesting work, good comp, and a life.

I'm never going to make biglaw partner money, but I make very good (roughly $350k) money and the lifestyle is immeasurably better. The only times I take calls on the weekend or at night are when there is a time zone issue that makes it unavoidable. I have predictable hours, can actually do stuff on the weekend, actually get enough rest and the opportunity to be truly present with my wife and kid. It's SO much better.

The work is also really engaging. I actually enjoyed the work in biglaw (well some of it) and while I do miss the really technical drafting (which only made up a tiny fraction of the old job anyway), I really enjoy being integrated into the business. The problems you get to handle in-house are different, but (if you're at a place where legal is respected) it's fun and challenging.

No one can answer if it's the right call for you, but there are other ways to live your life that don't involve the all consuming biglaw grind.

[Anonymous User]

OP here again. After spending a fair bit of time feeling like a dork for posting this, I'm really glad I did.

For those that did go in-house (especially those who are happy), do you mind sharing briefly how you found your job? I will occasionally respond to recruiter emails for in-house positions and have spent some time talking to some of my firms' alum who have gone in house. It's been a bit demoralizing, because my experience so far has given me the impression that in-house positions sort of fall into one of three camps:

1) jobs that fell into someone's lap (i.e., friends or right-place right-time type of stuff),
2) people that went to their partners and said "I'm not happy and want to go in-house" (which I'm hesitant to do because it feels like it would be closing the door to a future at the firm) or
3) jobs that you don't want (i.e., you can tell why certain positions are being filled by recruiters).

Also for those who mentioned "biglaw" firms that don't require the same level of sacrifice, what kinds of firms are these (don't need names)? I've also spoken to some folks who have lateraled to other firms and generally feel like it's all the same or worse at smaller firms.

[Anonymous User]

Earlier poster re biglaw options. I moved from levfin into VC financing. We primarily work with large lending institutions where the bankers work sensible hours. Turnaround on documents is generally 3 to 5 days (as opposed to same day). Deal volume is high, but that’s not a bad thing given it helps you hit 2000 hours without weekends or too many late nights.

[Anonymous User]

OP here again. After spending a fair bit of time feeling like a dork for posting this, I'm really glad I did.

For those that did go in-house (especially those who are happy), do you mind sharing briefly how you found your job? I will occasionally respond to recruiter emails for in-house positions and have spent some time talking to some of my firms' alum who have gone in house. It's been a bit demoralizing, because my experience so far has given me the impression that in-house positions sort of fall into one of three camps:

1) jobs that fell into someone's lap (i.e., friends or right-place right-time type of stuff),
2) people that went to their partners and said "I'm not happy and want to go in-house" (which I'm hesitant to do because it feels like it would be closing the door to a future at the firm) or
3) jobs that you don't want (i.e., you can tell why certain positions are being filled by recruiters).

Also for those who mentioned "biglaw" firms that don't require the same level of sacrifice, what kinds of firms are these (don't need names)? I've also spoken to some folks who have lateraled to other firms and generally feel like it's all the same or worse at smaller firms.

I found both my in-house gigs through recruiters and honestly have not had issues with them so not sure if point 3 is accurate. Definitely glad I did go in-house cause even though I make less than I would in big law, I still make mid 300s and get to be with my wife and baby a lot and don't cancel events anymore like I did in big law.

[Anonymous User]

OP here again. After spending a fair bit of time feeling like a dork for posting this, I'm really glad I did.

For those that did go in-house (especially those who are happy), do you mind sharing briefly how you found your job? I will occasionally respond to recruiter emails for in-house positions and have spent some time talking to some of my firms' alum who have gone in house. It's been a bit demoralizing, because my experience so far has given me the impression that in-house positions sort of fall into one of three camps:

1) jobs that fell into someone's lap (i.e., friends or right-place right-time type of stuff),
2) people that went to their partners and said "I'm not happy and want to go in-house" (which I'm hesitant to do because it feels like it would be closing the door to a future at the firm) or
3) jobs that you don't want (i.e., you can tell why certain positions are being filled by recruiters).

I found mine through an internally posted list at the firm (so not quite your scenario 2 but also not a cold application). I will say the in-house job hunt took a lot longer for me than I was expecting, not because jobs were hard to find but the right job was hard to find. I found that pay in particular was all over the map and had several times where I went pretty far down the road with a potential employer only to find we couldn't bridge a big comp gap. Even though i ended up getting the gig through the firm, I used LinkedIn, Go-Inhouse, referrals from friends, and recruiters as part of my search. I think if you're serious about it, just accept it might take a while and don't settle for the first thing that falls into your lap.

Definitely glad I did go in-house cause even though I make less than I would in big law, I still make mid 300s and get to be with my wife and baby a lot and don't cancel events anymore like I did in big law.

This describes my situation exactly and I 100% agree

[Anonymous User]

OP here again. After spending a fair bit of time feeling like a dork for posting this, I'm really glad I did.

For those that did go in-house (especially those who are happy), do you mind sharing briefly how you found your job? I will occasionally respond to recruiter emails for in-house positions and have spent some time talking to some of my firms' alum who have gone in house. It's been a bit demoralizing, because my experience so far has given me the impression that in-house positions sort of fall into one of three camps:

1) jobs that fell into someone's lap (i.e., friends or right-place right-time type of stuff),
2) people that went to their partners and said "I'm not happy and want to go in-house" (which I'm hesitant to do because it feels like it would be closing the door to a future at the firm) or
3) jobs that you don't want (i.e., you can tell why certain positions are being filled by recruiters).

Also for those who mentioned "biglaw" firms that don't require the same level of sacrifice, what kinds of firms are these (don't need names)? I've also spoken to some folks who have lateraled to other firms and generally feel like it's all the same or worse at smaller firms.

I found both my in-house gigs through recruiters and honestly have not had issues with them so not sure if point 3 is accurate. Definitely glad I did go in-house cause even though I make less than I would in big law, I still make mid 300s and get to be with my wife and baby a lot and don't cancel events anymore like I did in big law.

Are these the standard recruiters that hit you up via LinkedIn? I always get tons of messages from them, but they all seem for other biglaw jobs. Is there some hidden vein of inhouse recruiters, or do you just need to request an inhousejob from these recruiters?

[Anonymous User]

You need the right attitude to survive biglaw. I did 6 years in two V10s. There were times it was absolutely awful. You have to figure out ways to manage up and not let your own perfectionism/pride/neurosis get you down. And you have to have a plan. I always knew I wanted to go in house - for all the reasons people above stated about seeing partners and thinking they didn’t want that life, and also becuase I think directly supporting a business team is more interesting than being an external service provider. When you have a plan you will feel like you are working towards a goal and not just treading water.

There’s a lot of gloom and doom on this website but honestly I feel pretty good about how things worked out for me. With TLS guidance I took out a reasonable amount of debt to attend a CCN. I made six figures working with smart people, attending fancy corporate events and getting seamless meals delivered to my desk. Compared to my friends in residency programs and even banking, it was honestly not that bad. And now I make 350k cash (plus equity but who knows how it turns out) in house to work 9-6 with a great team on interesting transactions in an area of the market that I am passionate amount. And it’s full time remote. This for a guy who, when I graduated college, had zero marketable skills. Zero. I grew up middle/borderline working class and in only 7 years post law school (I’m class of 2015), my family is now solidly upper middle class (my wife works too) with a work to life balance that allows us to have friends, hobbies, kids, etc. And I am not paritularly special for any of this - I just had a plan for where I wanted to be. Biglaw is a tool to get there. Treat it like that and you’ll be ok.

As for getting a good in house job - recruiters can be great. Some shitty recruiters have exclusive listings for great jobs. Quality of the recruiter doesn’t track quality of the opportunity, though Ymmv. I went in house to a client and so didn’t use a recruiter, but had interviewed for a few positions through recruiters that were great.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks, man. This is really encouraging advice. Interesting advice about the inverse correlation of recruiter quality and job quality.

Think I will start talking to more recruiters. Sounds like my description of in-house opportunities #3 was overly broad. I got a bad impression after talking to a couple of people from a recruiter-posted in-house position and could definitely tell that the job would be nearly as bad in terms of hours (bunch of people in different time zones) with really boring, repetitive work. Sounds like it's much more of a mixed bag from recruiters.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks, man. This is really encouraging advice. Interesting advice about the inverse correlation of recruiter quality and job quality.

Think I will start talking to more recruiters. Sounds like my description of in-house opportunities #3 was overly broad. I got a bad impression after talking to a couple of people from a recruiter-posted in-house position and could definitely tell that the job would be nearly as bad in terms of hours (bunch of people in different time zones) with really boring, repetitive work. Sounds like it's much more of a mixed bag from recruiters.

One thing to realize is that the way jobs work with recruiters tends to be different for in-house vs law firms. For firms, a firm likely isn't working exclusively with one recruiter. You often get the best mileage by developing a really good relationship with a single recruiter in your target market that can get you in front of the right hiring teams. For in house jobs though, it tends to be almost all exclusive postings. So like the above poster said you'll sometimes have shitty recruiters who have great jobs (or great recruiters trying to place people into crap positions). You're better off developing relationships with a number of in-house recruiters so that you're on their list of people to think of / reach out to if they get a new listing that fits your criteria.

[Anonymous User]

OP here again. After spending a fair bit of time feeling like a dork for posting this, I'm really glad I did.

For those that did go in-house (especially those who are happy), do you mind sharing briefly how you found your job? I will occasionally respond to recruiter emails for in-house positions and have spent some time talking to some of my firms' alum who have gone in house. It's been a bit demoralizing, because my experience so far has given me the impression that in-house positions sort of fall into one of three camps:

1) jobs that fell into someone's lap (i.e., friends or right-place right-time type of stuff),
2) people that went to their partners and said "I'm not happy and want to go in-house" (which I'm hesitant to do because it feels like it would be closing the door to a future at the firm) or
3) jobs that you don't want (i.e., you can tell why certain positions are being filled by recruiters).

Also for those who mentioned "biglaw" firms that don't require the same level of sacrifice, what kinds of firms are these (don't need names)? I've also spoken to some folks who have lateraled to other firms and generally feel like it's all the same or worse at smaller firms.

I found both my in-house gigs through recruiters and honestly have not had issues with them so not sure if point 3 is accurate. Definitely glad I did go in-house cause even though I make less than I would in big law, I still make mid 300s and get to be with my wife and baby a lot and don't cancel events anymore like I did in big law.

Are these the standard recruiters that hit you up via LinkedIn? I always get tons of messages from them, but they all seem for other biglaw jobs. Is there some hidden vein of inhouse recruiters, or do you just need to request an inhousejob from these recruiters?

First recruiter was a call to my big law office. Second recruiter might have been from linkedin. She already had my number though and I initially ignored her, but glad I followed up cause it was a great opportunity. I think the key is to just take the call from the recruiter and tell them what you're looking for and just say no to any interviews for big law gigs or in-house gigs that won't meet your salary requirements or industry interests

[Anonymous User]

OP here again. After spending a fair bit of time feeling like a dork for posting this, I'm really glad I did.

For those that did go in-house (especially those who are happy), do you mind sharing briefly how you found your job? I will occasionally respond to recruiter emails for in-house positions and have spent some time talking to some of my firms' alum who have gone in house. It's been a bit demoralizing, because my experience so far has given me the impression that in-house positions sort of fall into one of three camps:

1) jobs that fell into someone's lap (i.e., friends or right-place right-time type of stuff),
2) people that went to their partners and said "I'm not happy and want to go in-house" (which I'm hesitant to do because it feels like it would be closing the door to a future at the firm) or
3) jobs that you don't want (i.e., you can tell why certain positions are being filled by recruiters).

Also for those who mentioned "biglaw" firms that don't require the same level of sacrifice, what kinds of firms are these (don't need names)? I've also spoken to some folks who have lateraled to other firms and generally feel like it's all the same or worse at smaller firms.

I found both my in-house gigs through recruiters and honestly have not had issues with them so not sure if point 3 is accurate. Definitely glad I did go in-house cause even though I make less than I would in big law, I still make mid 300s and get to be with my wife and baby a lot and don't cancel events anymore like I did in big law.

Are these the standard recruiters that hit you up via LinkedIn? I always get tons of messages from them, but they all seem for other biglaw jobs. Is there some hidden vein of inhouse recruiters, or do you just need to request an inhousejob from these recruiters?

First recruiter was a call to my big law office. Second recruiter might have been from linkedin. She already had my number though and I initially ignored her, but glad I followed up cause it was a great opportunity. I think the key is to just take the call from the recruiter and tell them what you're looking for and just say no to any interviews for big law gigs or in-house gigs that won't meet your salary requirements or industry interests

It could be you are too junior or not in corporate. As a corporate midlevel at a v50, you get quite a few headhunter emails for in-house jobs.

[Anonymous User]

Those who are making 300k + inhouse working 9-5, which industry are you in?

[Anonymous User]

Those who are making 300k + inhouse working 9-5, which industry are you in?

Fund and VC

[Anonymous User]

Those who are making 300k + inhouse working 9-5, which industry are you in?

Energy / private equity