Going in-house after 1-2 years of Biglaw Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anyone gone in-house really early into their Biglaw stint (after 1-2 years doing corporate M&A work). How did it go? Would you do it all over again?

[Anonymous User]

Anyone gone in-house really early into their Biglaw stint (after 1-2 years doing corporate M&A work). How did it go? Would you do it all over again?

Bump

[trebekismyhero]

I did right at the 3 year mark (M&A as well). I think 2 years is the earliest I would recommend unless the in-house job is very different. At most firms you don't start drafting or taking the lead on until you begin your 3rd year. It has worked out for me, but definitely times I wish I had waited and gotten a little more experience

[1styearlateral]

This has definitely never been discussed before on these forums.

[Anonymous User]

This has definitely never been discussed before on these forums.

Please send me links. Thanks.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone gone in-house really early into their Biglaw stint (after 1-2 years doing corporate M&A work). How did it go? Would you do it all over again?

I went in house 3rd year. I would not recommend going in house any sooner.

Your experience will vary greatly by industry, practice group, and actual company, but I found myself hamstrung pretty early on in terms of being boxed in with the kinds of work I could do and my own growth.

If I went outside my little area, I would have to loop in others who would take that part over and lose ownership of the project. If I wanted serious promotions (not just meaningless title promotions), I would have to wait until either my manager quit, his/her manager quit and we all moved up, or I moved internally to a different team.

I think it's very important to not fall into the trap of moving in house into the most junior role in the organizations legal structure. Moving into a mid or senior position seems a lot better of a balance.

[becodalapa]

This has definitely never been discussed before on these forums.

Please send me links. Thanks.

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[1styearlateral]

This has definitely never been discussed before on these forums.

Please send me links. Thanks.

Do your own research.

[Anonymous User]

You know you can just...not respond? Don't be an asshole. Markets change and a lot of old info is out of date. Nothing wrong with OP asking for fresh perspectives. Indeed, there are a few responses already.

[LittleRedCorvette]

This has definitely never been discussed before on these forums.

Please send me links. Thanks.

In case we needed any evidence you're in your first or second year of biglaw...

[persia1921]

I know it’s probably not what you want to hear, but stick it out another few years if you can. Your options will likely be significantly better and you will be less likely to end up in a dead end position.

Some folks get lucky and find something decent early on, but I’d say that is by far the exception. In my experience, the offers have been much better once crossing over the 5th year line (both in terms of comp, position title, and potential for upward mobility). I was given similar advice as a second year, and at least for me, it turned out to be true.

[Anonymous User]

This has definitely never been discussed before on these forums.

Please send me links. Thanks.

In case we needed any evidence you're in your first or second year of biglaw...

Feel good about yourself now???

[Anonymous User]

This has definitely never been discussed before on these forums.

Please send me links. Thanks.

Do your own research.

Feel good about yourself now???

[Anonymous User]

I went in-house after 2 years in biglaw and I regret absolutely nothing. I found a job with a startup that is an amazing fit, was willing to pay me almost what I was making with biglaw when I left (~95%), has better concrete benefits, and UNBELIEVABLY better day to day. Is it “prestigious”? Nah. But I work at most 9-5 (often less), don’t even pretend to check email on the weekends, and because the company is so small I’m doing a huge range of different kinds of things and it’s really interesting work, and the diversity of practice is really great experience for a broad variety of options in my next gig.

This is not to say that you’ll be totally fine if you take any in-house job — but there are options out there for a 2nd/3rd year that make you wonder why biglaw even still exists.

[Anonymous User]

I went in-house after 2 years in biglaw and I regret absolutely nothing. I found a job with a startup that is an amazing fit, was willing to pay me almost what I was making with biglaw when I left (~95%), has better concrete benefits, and UNBELIEVABLY better day to day. Is it “prestigious”? Nah. But I work at most 9-5 (often less), don’t even pretend to check email on the weekends, and because the company is so small I’m doing a huge range of different kinds of things and it’s really interesting work, and the diversity of practice is really great experience for a broad variety of options in my next gig.

This is not to say that you’ll be totally fine if you take any in-house job — but there are options out there for a 2nd/3rd year that make you wonder why biglaw even still exists.

Assuming you got this through connections?

[Anonymous User]

I went in-house after 2 years in biglaw and I regret absolutely nothing. I found a job with a startup that is an amazing fit, was willing to pay me almost what I was making with biglaw when I left (~95%), has better concrete benefits, and UNBELIEVABLY better day to day. Is it “prestigious”? Nah. But I work at most 9-5 (often less), don’t even pretend to check email on the weekends, and because the company is so small I’m doing a huge range of different kinds of things and it’s really interesting work, and the diversity of practice is really great experience for a broad variety of options in my next gig.

This is not to say that you’ll be totally fine if you take any in-house job — but there are options out there for a 2nd/3rd year that make you wonder why biglaw even still exists.

Assuming you got this through connections?

Nope - responded to a headhunter email. Went through interviews at a couple of other places too and ended up with two offers that were both really solid opportunities, picked the one that felt like a better fit.
My (admittedly anecdotal) experience was that the market is bonkers, the “rules” have gone out the window, and there’s a lot of opportunities.

Now will I be the prestigious attorney with finely honed skills working on huge, complicated transactions that I might’ve been if I stuck around at the firm? Nope. Won’t be making any fancy rising star lists or be invited to moderate ABA panels or whatever… but I’ll have an interesting career with great pay and benefits and also will be able to have a life - for me, there wasn’t even a hesitation.

[cwalkley25]

I went in-house after 2 years in biglaw and I regret absolutely nothing. I found a job with a startup that is an amazing fit, was willing to pay me almost what I was making with biglaw when I left (~95%), has better concrete benefits, and UNBELIEVABLY better day to day. Is it “prestigious”? Nah. But I work at most 9-5 (often less), don’t even pretend to check email on the weekends, and because the company is so small I’m doing a huge range of different kinds of things and it’s really interesting work, and the diversity of practice is really great experience for a broad variety of options in my next gig.

This is not to say that you’ll be totally fine if you take any in-house job — but there are options out there for a 2nd/3rd year that make you wonder why biglaw even still exists.

Assuming you got this through connections?

Nope - responded to a headhunter email. Went through interviews at a couple of other places too and ended up with two offers that were both really solid opportunities, picked the one that felt like a better fit.
My (admittedly anecdotal) experience was that the market is bonkers, the “rules” have gone out the window, and there’s a lot of opportunities.

Now will I be the prestigious attorney with finely honed skills working on huge, complicated transactions that I might’ve been if I stuck around at the firm? Nope. Won’t be making any fancy rising star lists or be invited to moderate ABA panels or whatever… but I’ll have an interesting career with great pay and benefits and also will be able to have a life - for me, there wasn’t even a hesitation.

What was your practice group before you left biglaw?

[Anonymous User]

I went in-house after 2 years in biglaw and I regret absolutely nothing. I found a job with a startup that is an amazing fit, was willing to pay me almost what I was making with biglaw when I left (~95%), has better concrete benefits, and UNBELIEVABLY better day to day. Is it “prestigious”? Nah. But I work at most 9-5 (often less), don’t even pretend to check email on the weekends, and because the company is so small I’m doing a huge range of different kinds of things and it’s really interesting work, and the diversity of practice is really great experience for a broad variety of options in my next gig.

This is not to say that you’ll be totally fine if you take any in-house job — but there are options out there for a 2nd/3rd year that make you wonder why biglaw even still exists.

Assuming you got this through connections?

Nope - responded to a headhunter email. Went through interviews at a couple of other places too and ended up with two offers that were both really solid opportunities, picked the one that felt like a better fit.
My (admittedly anecdotal) experience was that the market is bonkers, the “rules” have gone out the window, and there’s a lot of opportunities.

Now will I be the prestigious attorney with finely honed skills working on huge, complicated transactions that I might’ve been if I stuck around at the firm? Nope. Won’t be making any fancy rising star lists or be invited to moderate ABA panels or whatever… but I’ll have an interesting career with great pay and benefits and also will be able to have a life - for me, there wasn’t even a hesitation.

What was your practice group before you left biglaw?

General corporate in theory - in practice, something like 60% cap markets, 20% VC, 10% M&A and 10% general startup stuff

[Inhousefuture]

I went in-house after 2 years in biglaw and I regret absolutely nothing. I found a job with a startup that is an amazing fit, was willing to pay me almost what I was making with biglaw when I left (~95%), has better concrete benefits, and UNBELIEVABLY better day to day. Is it “prestigious”? Nah. But I work at most 9-5 (often less), don’t even pretend to check email on the weekends, and because the company is so small I’m doing a huge range of different kinds of things and it’s really interesting work, and the diversity of practice is really great experience for a broad variety of options in my next gig.

This is not to say that you’ll be totally fine if you take any in-house job — but there are options out there for a 2nd/3rd year that make you wonder why biglaw even still exists.

Does the company give you equity? If so, how good is it? What other types of offers have you seen? are you involved in any non-legal or legal-adjacent matters?

thanks

[Anonymous User]

I went in-house after 2 years in biglaw and I regret absolutely nothing. I found a job with a startup that is an amazing fit, was willing to pay me almost what I was making with biglaw when I left (~95%), has better concrete benefits, and UNBELIEVABLY better day to day. Is it “prestigious”? Nah. But I work at most 9-5 (often less), don’t even pretend to check email on the weekends, and because the company is so small I’m doing a huge range of different kinds of things and it’s really interesting work, and the diversity of practice is really great experience for a broad variety of options in my next gig.

This is not to say that you’ll be totally fine if you take any in-house job — but there are options out there for a 2nd/3rd year that make you wonder why biglaw even still exists.

Does the company give you equity? If so, how good is it? What other types of offers have you seen? are you involved in any non-legal or legal-adjacent matters?

thanks

Yes, I think equity is a standard part of the comp package for tech/biotech at least — I got an option grant with an exercise price of 70% of my base salary, vesting over four years. I interviewed with a few other places and had another offer that I turned down (a similar base salary, RSUs worth 25% of my base vesting over 3 years). Everything I do is legal, but it’s a very broad range - I provide legal support to sales, HR, marketing and more.